


Joey

by Alecto



Series: 5200 Miles To Go [2]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Acting, Actors, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Characters as Adults, Drama, F/M, Future Fic, Happy Ending, M/M, Original Character(s), Post-Canon, Romance, Sequel, Unrequited Love, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-02-15
Updated: 2011-01-04
Packaged: 2017-10-11 12:08:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 98,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/112246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alecto/pseuds/Alecto
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jounouchi left Domino City eleven years ago. Now he returns a celebrity and he's finally ready to face the myriad of unresolved issues from his past? Only problem is everyone from Mai, to the press, to the mysterious person sending death threats wants a piece of him.</p><p>Sequel to <i><a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/111603">Red as Fire</a></i>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prelude

"We need to talk."

_His cold blue eyes bore deep into my soul. I squirmed uncomfortably under his intense gaze._

"Really? About what?" Her uncaring eyes pierced through my heart.

_I looked away. I knew this was coming._

"About us." I whispered. The words resonated through me, striking strangely familiar cords. I vaguely remembered having this conversation with someone else. But now the roles had been reversed...

_Us... There was never an 'us.'_

She snorted. "There is no us."

_"Really?" He had whispered. He closed the distance between our lips._

"I love you."

_He hadn't said that to me though._

She turned away from me. My heart leapt into my throat. She couldn't reject me... "Is that so?"

_I rolled out of the way. I wanted his touch. I wanted his kiss but I couldn't allow myself._

I grabbed her arms and pulled her into my embrace. "I love you." I repeated myself ardently. I sealed that proclamation with a passionate kiss.

_"What do you want me to say? That I love you? That I hate you?" I felt his harsh breath against my face._

She pulled away from me. "I don't." She started to walk away but I grabbed onto her wrist. I couldn't let her go just yet.

_His hands were so warm..._

"Why can't you be honest with yourself? I know you feel the same way about me as I do about you!"

_Funny... He had said the same thing to me._

"I am being honest..." Her quiet reply was almost lost to the rough seaside breeze. She pulled her hand out of my loose grip. I could only watch with a heavy heart as she vanished into the sunset.

_I wasn't willing to be honest with him, with myself, about these feelings... Why couldn't I have been honest?_

"And CUT! That's a wrap, people. We're done for the day." The director lowered his chair to the sandy beach.

The entire crew breathed a sigh of relief. They began to pack up the set. It had been a long day. The unusually strong winds had almost canceled today's work. I thanked one of the go-for's as he handed me a towel. I wiped the sweat from my forehead.

My co-star, the beautiful and 'damn sexy' Jennifer Adams, appeared at my side. Her golden hair shimmered under the setting California sun. She took a giant gulp from her water bottle. "What a day, huh Joey?"

I responded with a broad smile. "Well, we're almost done. We have just five more scenes to shoot."

She groaned. "You really are new to the biz, kid. That's gonna take us at least another two months with Director 'I-have-a-stick-up-my-ass'."

"I heard that, Jennifer!" The nasal voice of our director echoed through the set. Everyone winced visibly. You didn't want to incur the wrath of Matthew B. Jamerson.

"You know I'm just kidding, Matt." She laughed and turned back to me. "Seriously though, he's a great director, even if he has permanent PMS."

I chuckled slightly. She was always like that. "I wonder how you even manage to get these roles with that mouth of yours."

She winked at me with those pretty blue cauliflower eyes of her. My heart ached as I remembered another pair of beautiful blue eyes, as deep as the ocean before me. "I'm beautiful and sexy. They know they need me if they wanna sell any tickets." She tossed her empty water bottle to one of the crew members. "Well, see ya kid. I'm gonna go home and have a nice relaxing bath."

I waved goodbye as she vanished into her trailer. I made my way toward my own. The various crew greeted me along the way. I returned their greetings with good humor. My trailer was quite large and comfortable but then again, I was one of the stars of the movie. I collapsed onto the huge green couch and stared at the ceiling. Never would I have thought I would end up acting. Hell, I still wasn't over the fact that I had been 'discovered' and propelled into stardom so fast.

I sat up and looked at the magazines on the coffee table. _Times_... I wasn't in the mood for the never-ending debate on America's foreign policies. _People_... Nope. Didn't feel like reading about a bunch of snobby celebrities that I already had to deal with. I settled for the latest issue of _Fortune_ magazine. I was definitely looking for a good company to invest in now that the dough was coming in.

Dear Lord... I was finally beginning to think like an American.

I flipped idly through the pages of the magazine, scanning through some of the latest technological innovations featured.

A bold title caught my attention. Well, more specifically, the words "Kaiba Corporations" caught my attention. I sighed as I laid the magazine on the table. I should have been more honest...


	2. Track 1- Love Song For No One

_My head hit the desk with a slight thud. I couldn't believe how boring English Literature was. Why did I chose this elective in the first place? Oh, right, I didn't chose this class. I was late in applying and this was the last class with any open spots. Just my luck that **he** should be in this class too. At least Anzu was in the class too, so I wasn't completely alone. She was also the only one keeping me from strangling Kaiba. _

_"Shakespeare raises some interesting questions in this play. When are moral choices personal? Desire, lust, love; what are the boundaries between these, and how and when are they blurred? Does power corrupt?" The teacher droned on. Half the class was asleep at their desks too. How **boring** could this woman be? Like me, most of the students were not in this class by choice. "Let's pick up where we left off yesterday. Turn to Act 2, Scene 4, line 151. We're going to need an Angelo and an Isabella." _

_The class was quiet. Not a single hand was in the air. The teacher frowned at us. "Don't make me pick on someone again," she warned. Still, no one raised his or her hand. She furrowed her brow. She pulled out the attendance sheet. She closed her eyes and placed her finger on a name on the paper. She stared at the name. "Kaiba-kun, Angelo if you please." _

_He stared at our teacher with calm eyes. Most of the class was awake now. He calmly waited for an Isabella to be chosen. The hand of every girl except for Anzu shot up in the air. They would give anything to play the part of Isabella to Kaiba's Angelo, especially in the scene where Angelo confessed his love to Isabella. What a bunch of bimbos! Except for Anzu. _

_Our teacher's scowl deepened. She closed her eyes again and picked another name. "Jounouchi-kun, Isabella." _

_"What!" I was now wide awake as well. My fists slammed into the surface of the table as I shot out of my seat. _

_The boys in the class immediately burst into laughter. This was not cool. This was utterly humiliating! I refused to play out this scene with Kaiba of all people. _

_"Come on, Isabella." One of the boys jeered in a lusty tone. _

_I bit down on my lower lip. I didn't want to do this. Why in hell would I want to do something like this? But I couldn't afford to fail this class. I was barely passing as it was, even with Anzu's help. My eyes met Kaiba's but it was only for a second before the other boy turn away. _

_Our teacher nodded toward Kaiba. "If the two of you could please come to the front of the room." _

_He stood and swiftly walked to the front of the room, without expression. I dragged his feet. I must have looked like I was on the way to the gallows. For me, I really did feel like it. _

_"You may begin, Kaiba-kun." Our teacher smirked slightly. Damn sadistic old hag. _

_"Plainly conceive I love you." His voice was monotonous and emotionless. His English, however, was perfect. I didn't expect anything less from him anyway. Every word was clearly punctuated. _

_The entire class burst into laughter again. It was the kind of phrase you would never believe Kaiba Seto to say even if the world was ending. I could feel my face beginning to turn red. Our teacher glared at the rest of the class before she turned back to him. "A little more emotion please, Kaiba-kun." _

_"My brother did love Juliet, and you tell me that he shall die 't." My reading was both quick and forced. My English was no where as good as his at that time. I sincerely hope mine is better after living in America these past few years. It was a jumbled mess. Most of his class snickered at my poor attempt at English. I just thanked God that this scene mostly consisted of Angelo pretty much rambling. _

_"He shall not, Isabel, if you give me love." _

_There was a roar of laughter again. _

_"I know your virtue hath a license in 't which seems a little fouler than it is to pluck on others." _

_"Believe me, on mine honor, my words express my purpose." _

_"Ha!" My laughter was genuine and bitter. I laughed at the irony of the situation. Kaiba was as about sincere as Angelo was. "Little honor to be much believed, and most pernicious purpose. Seeming, seeming! I will proclaim thee, Angelo, look at 't. Sign me a present pardon for my brother or with an outstretched throat I'll tell the world aloud what man thou art." _

_"Who will believe thee, Isabel?" He sneered, locking eyes with me for the first time since this started. He took a step forward and closed the distance between him and me. His face was inches away from mine. I took an unconscious step backwards. "My unsoiled name, th' austereness of my life, my vouch against you, and my place i' th' state will so your accusation overweigh that you shall stifle in your own report and smell of calumny." _

_I wanted to punch him for his smug tone. This was, indeed, bitterly ironic. _

_"I have begun, and now I give my sensual race the rein. Fit thy consent to my sharp appetite; lay all nicety and prolicious blushes that banish what they sue for." He ended in a husky whisper. _

_The class was strangely quiet now, mesmerized by his performance. They had no idea he could act so well. I had no idea… My breath was caught in my throat as I saw a whole cluster of strange emotions flash through his eyes. The bell rang; shattering whatever was between the two of us. _

_It was gone. The icy facade had fallen back into place. His eyes were lifeless now but that gray blue still left a burning impression on me. I shivered. _

_What was this feeling?_

...

There was an abnormally large amount of dead space in this painting. It was different from all her other pieces of art. All of her paintings were always full of color and life. She utilized every space available. No part of her canvas was ever left so strangely blank and white. Something was missing and it tugged at the viewer's heart uneasily. There were so many unresolved feelings and issues.

Kaiba Seto turned away from the painting. He lifted the glass of champagne to his dry lips and drained the last of it. People in formal evening wear milled about him. He loosened his tie. He was going to choke to death at this rate. A waiter passed him with a tray of glasses. Kaiba suppressed the urge to grab another. He had had enough already. He rarely drank alcohol because he believe it to the nectar of brain-dead fools.

But tonight...

He looked back at the painting.

Screw it.

He signaled to the waiter.

Jounouchi Shizuka glanced at Kaiba from her position among the reporters. She placed on another one of those half-hearted grins before tugging at her uncomfortable silk dress. She hated dealing with the press, but it was important for her to maintain these appearances.

"Kaiba-san."

Heturned and was greeted by the sight of Jounouchi Michi in a modest black dress. She had grown older, but she was still the same strong-willed and loving woman she had always been. Wrinkles and lines of joy and sorrow had etched themselves onto her had dulled the auburn of her hair and painted it gray. He bowed slightly and stiffly in his tuxedo. "Michi-san." He turned back toward the painting.

She noted sadly that Kaiba was gripping the glass to the point where he might crack it. The boy was tense.

No. He was no longer a boy. She had watched the boy grow into the man before her. She cared for him like he was her own son, especially since the poor child had no mother of his own.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" She commented on the painting.

Kaiba nodded his head but didn't reply. She chewed on her bottom lip. Oh, how all these children had grown up in the past decade. "To tell you the truth, I was very surprised when Shizuka told me about your relationship with Katsuya," she wasn't sure what had compelled her to talk about this. "I had no idea. I thought you and Katsuya hated each other."

Kaiba would not answer.

"I've never thanked you for being so good to Shizuka. You helped pay her through art school and set her on the track with a successful career. I don't know how to thank you."

"Shizuka has an incredible talent. She would have been successful with or without my help." He still wouldn't face her.

"But you saved her years of hardship in a career that so often fails to recognize talent such as hers. I...I had even thought you were interested in my daughter for the longest time. Then I wouldn't have to worry about her future. I thought she would always be financially secure. I feel like such an idiot now. You do love her, but it's the love a brother has for a younger sister." Michi smiled in an unsure manner.

"She is important to me- like Mokuba."

Michi shook her head. "I know. I've been so blind..." she turned to watch her daughter and Honda interact with the reporters. "I don't have anything against Honda-san. He does love Shizuka so much."

"Honda would give his life for her."

"I certainly hope it'll never come to that." She scowled. Her expression softened as she watched Honda give Shizuka a peck on the cheek. "Honda-san has done quite well for himself. They're such a cute couple. I'm glad they're happy together." She raised warm amber eyes to meet Kaiba's gaze. "I hope you can find that same happiness. I know you will. Please don't give up on Katsuya." She then left the young man to his thoughts.

...

Shizuka looked back toward Kaiba. She noticed that he looked even more sour than before, if that was even possible, after talking to her mother. Her eye caught with Honda's gaze.

Her fiancé pulled her out of the circle and gestured in the direction of the depressed CEO. "I'll take care of them. Go talk to Kaiba."

Shizuka smiled sweetly. Honda always knew what she was thinking. "Thanks." She leaned up and pecked the man on the cheek.

She stopped her mother along the way and pulled her to the side. "Okaa-san, what did you say to Kaiba-san? He's in an even worse mood than before."

Michi waved her daughter away. "I was just talking about Katsuya."

"Okaa-san," Shizuka said. "You know what a sensitive subject Onii-chan is."

"It's been almost eleven years. It's time Kaiba-san faced this."

"He can't though. We have no idea where Onii-chan has been all these years. Even Kaiba-san can't find him."

Michi sighed and steered her daughter in Kaiba's direction. "Shizuka, that's because he didn't want to find Katsuya. Neither of them wanted to face each other so they pushed each other further and further away until they were running from each other. They can't keep running like this. Talk some sense into him, dear. He listens to you." She gave her daughter an encouraging smile and a nudge.

Shizuka went hesitantly. She weaved her way in and out of Domino's social elite with a nod here and there. She stopped besides the man she had come to think of as an older brother. Kaiba continued to stare at the painting hanging under the bright studio lights.

"Why did you paint this?"

Shizuka jumped. "I thought you didn't notice I was here."

"I always know." He breathed quietly.

She looked up at the painting. "I've always liked it the best." She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "I know you've always liked it best too."

He tore his gaze away from the art, reaching for another glass of champagne. A soft hand gripped his own and moved it away from the alcohol. He met her soft emerald eyes.

Her voice was barely above a whisper. "You've had enough, Kaiba-san. We can't change the past or the choices that he made."

He snorted. "He ran away from everything. His mistakes are not of my concern."

"Jounouchi-san, the press conference is about to begin." An exhibition worker tugged on her sleeve.

Shizuka took one last glance at Kaiba before moving toward the chairs set up. He scowled as he reached for another glass and drained its content.

The light bulbs flashed with a sudden intensity as the sound of camera shutters echoed through the room.

"Jounouchi-san! I would like to ask you a question about the featured painting of this exhibit, _Sleeping Brother_. It seems relatively uncompleted. Is there some kind of reason behind that?"

Shizuka cleared her throat. She truly hated doing this. Honda's grip over hands tightened. She felt his warmth and support seep into her skin. "_Sleeping Brother_ is a painting based off the first sketch I did after I regained my eyesight about ten years ago. Most of the paintings in this exhibit revisit those early sketches. I'm sure you'll recognize the teenage portraits of Mutou Yugi, Mazaki Anzu, my fiancé, my brother, and even one of Kaiba-san there."

Camera suddenly whipped in Kaiba's direction where he lingered in the back of the room with another glass in hand. He scowled at them and they turned away.

"The reason why it looks unfinished is because it is unfinished," she took a deep breath. "I think that you can sense there is something missing in the painting. Until certain issues are resolved and brought to a close, the painting won't be finished. However, it seems that that will most likely be the case."

Another reporter was practically jumping up and down. "Jounouchi-san! Would you give us some comments on your upcoming manga? It's rare that a successful artist such as yourself would move into the realm of drawing mangas."

"The manga is really an experiment," Shizuka fiddled with her fingers. "I've always wanted to draw manga, and now I feel it's finally time to give it a shot. It's based on some real life events that happened about 11 or 12 years ago. Of course, there is a fantasy aspect to the story. It follows the adventures of one Takahashi Yugi and his friends, after Yugi completes an ancient puzzle called the Millennium Puzzle. Many of the supporting characters are based off people I've known in real life. My fiancé will be helping me write the dialogue. The first chapter will be out in this month's issue of _Sum-Zero_ so I hope everyone can support me in this endeavor. Next question?"

The next reporter jumped to her feet. Honda recognized her instantly. Yamato Kimiko was from the same newspaper he worked for, but her stories tended to be on the extragerated side. She lived to stir up trouble more than anything. "I noticed that your brother as seen in the painting greatly resembles an American-"

Honda cut her off. "This conference is over. I'd like to thank you for attending this function and for your show of support. Good night." He pulled Shizuka to her feet and led her away from table.

Shizuka stared strangely at him. "What's wrong, Hiroto?"

He shot her a brilliant smile. "Nothing's wrong, Shizuka-chan. Don't worry about it. You know that reporter. She's nothing but trouble."

She wasn't sure but she could only trust him as he led her away. "If you say so."

...

"Are you sure you're okay with this?"

Jounouchi nodded as he folded the last article of clothing. "I haven't got much of a choice. The producers really want me to do this. I mean, we're done with the filming, but the movie's gonna be inpost-production for quite a while. Jennifer's doing her part in promoting the movie and I should too. Just think as it as a vacation sorta, Sophie."

Sophia Chang tossed her jet black hair as she crossed her legs. She was seated on his bed. "You're not just going anywhere. You're going to Japan. I can get the producers to change their minds, ya know?"

"Geeze, Sophie. Stop worrying. It's about time I went back anyway." He shut the suitcase. He stood there for a moment, his hands resting on top of the suitcase and staring at the void black. "I have to face Shizuka sooner or later. I owe her that much..."

"Bullshit!" she spat. "You know you're lying to yourself. You don't ever want to go back. Stop lying to yourself." Her expression softened. "Besides, are you sure your sister's the only person you have to face?"

He turned to face her. They stared at each other for a few seconds. Her gaze was steady and inquiring.

"I don't know what you mean." He turned back away.

She sighed and pushed her hair back. He was always like this. "Remember last week, we had that party with the crew to celebrate the end of filming and you got drunk? I mean, totally wasted. And I had to bring you home 'cause you couldn't drive."

He blanched. "Oh shit, we didn't sleep together, did we? Because there goes the whole platonic relationship thing."

She rolled her eyes. "No. Besides, I'm not your type. I know you prefer guys."

He paled even further until his face was as white as sheet. "What?" He squeaked.

"You told me all about Kaiba Seto, Katsuya."

He froze. Part of him vaguely wondered when and how she has gained the privilege of addressing him by his given name. "I told you?"

"When you drink, you talk," she shrugged. "So yeah, you told me everything. How it started with the Red Lady, your dad, Battle City, the virtual world, everything."

He sank down onto his bed next to her. He ran a hand through his unruly blond hair. "I can't believe I did that."

"That's besides the point. What are you going to do about Kaiba?"

He stared at the carpet and traced the swirls in his mind. "What's there to do? They probably won't even know I'm there so I don't have to worry about seeing any of them." She slapped the back of his head hard. "Ouch! What the fuck was that for?" He rubbed the back of his head.

"Jounouchi Katsuya, you're lying again. You're a coward."

She had spoken in his native language. In all the years since he had left Japan, he had only spoken to Sophia in that tongue. Her words struck a chord deep within him. It reminded him of how much he missed his home.

"I am," he whispered quietly in Japanese.

An arm snaked around his shoulder. "Don't worry. I'll be there with you. I'll help you see it through to the end." She winked. "I'll get to play matchmaker too. Lucky you, Katsuya, Kaiba Seto's totally hot!"

He felt a blush creep up on him. He pushed her away and she tumbled back onto the bed in a fury of maniacal laughter. "You're such a yaoi fangirl."

She smothered her laughter for a moment and waggled her eyebrows comically. "You know I'm right. You so need to get laid." She burst out laughing again.

His blush deepened. He grabbed a pillow and wielded it in the most threatening manner he could manage. He swung the pillow at her and it exploded in a snowstorm of down feathers. She sat there in shock as he snickered. Feathers were stuck to every part of her clothing and her hair was in complete disarray as a result of his attack. "You look like a chicken." He grinned cheekily.

"You just didn't." She growled.

His amber eyes twinkled with mirth. "Aww, honey, but I just did."

She grabbed one of the other pillows and lunged at him. He moved out of the way and she crashed onto the floor. "Make that an angry chicken." He taunted.

"Well, someone's going to be a dead dog soon!"

"Hey, I resent that remark!"

"You're gonna resemble it once I get through with you."

...

Honda pushed Kaiba into one of the backrooms while Shizuka was busy with some more guests. They were really working her haggard with this exhibit.

"What do you want?" Kaiba snapped with a slight flush on his usually pale cheeks.

Honda stared. Maybe Kaiba had had a little too much to drink... "We need to talk. You should really lay off the liquor, Kaiba." He seated the dazed man at the couch.

Kaiba glared at the other man. "Well?"

Honda paced back and forth across the room. Honda never paced, Kaiba noted, unless he was extremely anxious that is. "I didn't know who else to talk to about this. I can't tell Shizuka-chan yet. She can't take the shock right now. Yugi and Anzu will overreact and tell everyone. Bakura has enough to worry about with his research and his relationship with Malik. I don't want to add to that. I certainly can't tell Michi-san."

Kaiba finished for the other man. "So you come to me. What is it? Money problems? How much do you need?"

Honda stopped in his track and twirled around to face Kaiba. "It's not always about money! It's a matter of a certain 'who' rather than a 'what'." He went back to his pacing.

Kaiba's heart sank. It couldn't be...It couldn't be... He kept repeating and repeating in his mind to himself. He refused to believe that the entire evening had been a ridiculous foreshadowing or prelude to such a cruel twist of fate. But on the surface, he wore his ever composed yet impatient façade. "Just spit it out already. I don't have time for this."

Honda reached under the coffee table and threw a magazine onto the tabletop. Kaiba leaned forward in his seat to read the title.

Kaiba raised a single questioning yet sardonic eyebrow. "_Seventeen_, Honda? I didn't know you were into American teenie bopper magazines."

"Just turn to page 26." Honda gritted his teeth in frustration.

On the left side was a large shot of a shapely blond-haired woman against the backdrop of a sandy beach at sunset. Kaiba scanned the accompanying article quickly. Jennifer Adams...romantic drama...bound to be a blockbuster... One paragraph toward the end caught his eye though.

"However, Matthew B. Jamerson, the director, has taken one questionable risk with this movie. Jennifer's co-star, the ever charismatic Joey Katsuya, is a relative newcomer to the Hollywood scene. 'I know it's highly unorthodox to cast such a beginner in such a major role,' Matthew commented. 'but we have great confidence in Joey. It was rough at first but he's come a long way. He has improved over the last year more than most actors do in five.' Joey spent two successful seasons on the primetime drama, _Touch the Moon_, before making the move to movies. He and Jennifer appear to get along very well. Their performance in this movie is bound to be powerful and heart-wrenching. So what's next for these rising stars? Jennifer is looking into other projects to take on with Joey. Joey's returning to his native homeland, Japan, to promote _Here and Now_ abroad. We'll have to wait until Then to see how this duo fares."

Kaiba turned the page slowly. His fingers were numb as the anticipation gnawed at him. Honda stared intently at Kaiba, looking for some sign of a response. Kaiba stared down at the magazine. There, grinning up at him, was a photo of Jounouchi Katsuya...


	3. Track 2- In the End

_I could remember the day Jounouchi left like it was just yesterday. It was around this time about ten years ago. We had all just graduated from high school a few weeks ago. I was lucky the school even let me pass. Apparently, I had one too many absents but they had decided to graduate at the last moment. Anyway, summer was in full swing and most of my classmates were indulging in the joys of their youth before being shipped off to college. I was too busy working, as usual._

_It was an unusually hot summer that year. I was glad I was in my nicely air-conditioned office for once. Mokuba laid asleep on one of the couches lined with the side of my desk. The television set droned on about the recent recession in the American stock market and its effect on the world economy. I wasn't listening though. I had already heard it all this morning and the morning before that. _

_The lights on my phone lit up, indicating a call from his secretary. I pushed the red button. "What?" _

_"Seto-sama, there's someone here insisting on seeing you." _

_I continued to type. "Do they have an appointment?" _

_There was a pause on the other end of the line and a rustle of papers. "No, Seto-sama." _

_"I'm busy." My eyes didn't leave the computer screen. "Tell them to make an appointment and come back later." _

_I heard a few brief words exchanged over the phone that suddenly escalated into hysterical shouting. I frowned at the phone and my hands stilled. _

_Mokuba sat up on the couch and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He walked over to the side of my desk. "Nii-sama, what's going on?" _

_I ignored my little brother momentarily as I spoke into the phone. "Who is that?" _

_"Jounouchi," I nearly fell out of his chair. "Shizuka." _

_I froze. What was she doing here? "Let her in." _

_The double doors swung open and Shizuka stepped into the office. Her eyes were red from crying earlier and her cheeks tear-stained. Mokuba raced up to her and pulled over to one of the couches. _

_I stepped out from behind my desk. "What's wrong?" _

_Shizuka hiccuped when she tried to speak. Mokuba ran over to the water cooler and returned with a cup of cold water. She gulped down the drink and then stared at the cup. _

_Mokuba nudged Shizuka's side. She looked at him in surprise. "What happened, Shizuka-onee-chan?" _

_Shizuka turned her gaze to me. "Onii-chan...he... I didn't know who else to go to right now. Okaa-san is in Tokyo until later tonight and I don't know how to reach her." _

_My heart began to beat faster. "What happened to Jounouchi?" _

_"He ran away..." _

_There was silence as her words sunk into Mokuba and me. _

_"Jounouchi ran away!" Mokuba jumped to his feet, voicing my own disbelief along with his own. _

_She buried her face in her hands and began sobbing again. Mokuba was at a lost at what to do. He looked to me. I noticed a piece of loose leaf at Shizuka's side. I picked it up and recognized the messy handwriting as Jounouchi's. It read: _

_Dear Shizuka,  
You Onii-chan is an idiot. I can't stay here any longer. Everything's just become too much for me to accept. I can't handle this. I need some time away. I don't know when I'm coming back. I don't even know if I'm coming back at all. I'm sorry your Onii-chan is such a coward. Take care of yourself and Okaa-san. And tell Yugi and the others I said good-bye and that I'm sorry. I'll miss all of you. _

_Jounouchi's messy signature was scrawled across the bottome of the paper. The note looked like it had been written at the last moment possible. The bastard didn't even have the decency to take the time to write a long neat letter. _

_My numb arms fell to my side and the note fluttered to the floor. "He really left..." _

_Shizuka's sobs were muffled by her hands but her words could be heard clearly. "Stupid Onii-chan!"_

...

Jounouchi ducked into the cafe. He glanced over his shoulder and hoped to God that he had finally lost the paparazzi. Sophia already had a table and was waiting for him. He slumped down in his seat and continued to glance around in suspicion.

Sophia laughed. "What's wrong, handsome? Boogie man after you?"

Jounouchi glared at her. "Worse, the supermarket tabloid."

She speared a piece of chicken with her fork. He watched nervously as she dug her utensil into the piece of meat. She was unnerving like this at times. "The joys of being a big time movie star, huh?"

He sank further down in his seat.

"And sit up." Sophia scowled. "It's bad for your posture." She put down her fork. "It's because your real name has finally gotten out, and the papers were finally smart enough to relate you to the artist, Jounouchi Shizuka. The tabloids are trying to get a hold of your old records and everything."

He groaned. "Great! Is it too late to get out of going to Japan?"

"Yep!" She chirped, sounding way too cheerful for his liking. "You've already given your commitment to the directors."

"How can you be so goddamn cheerful at a time like this?" He gestured to the nearest waiter.

"Because this is the greatest press promotion we can hope for. People are going to be lining up outside the theaters to see the movie when it's out. This also puts you a step up on the Japanese market. And don't forget, I work best admist chaos." She folded her hands and continued to grin like a maniac.

"And that's why you got expelled from high school..." Jounouchi hid behind the menu as she shot him a death glare in return. "There's really no way to get out of this trip?"

Sophia picked up her fork and waved it at him. "Even if there was, I wouldn't tell you. You're going and that's the end of the story. You gotta stop running at one point."

"How the hell did they get my real name anyway?"

She was never very good at hiding her emotions.

Jounouchi slammed his fist down on the table. The other patrons turned their attention to Jounouchi's table. "What the hell? Sophia, please tell me you didn't!"

Sophia flashed the other patrons of the restaurant a quick grin. "Don't worry, folks, nothing to see here. I just forgot to force-feed him his medication today."

The other customers turned back to their meals hesitantly.

He gritted his teeth. "Sophia..."

She propped her elbow up on the table."Look, Katsuya. It was gonna get out sooner or later. And look at it this way, the sooner it's out, the sooner the tabloids will find something new to rave over. At least, they'll be 'reporting' on something true for once. Think of it as a service to the community."

"I trusted you, Sophia! How could you pull a stunt like this?" He sank further into his seat, wishing he could just disappear.

"At least when you go visit your sister when you're in Japan, she won't be caught by surprise."

"Who said I was going to see Shizuka?"

"Oh, I didn't tell you? I already got you a month off in Domino. I booked the hotel rooms already and set up a few interview with the local media. You'll be happy to know that your sister's fiancé is one of the editors of the city's largest paper." She counted off each item on her fingers.

Jounouchi buried his face in his hand. "Great, I'm completely screwed. Honda's probably gonna be pounding down my door before the day is over. And since when was Shizuka engaged? I wanna meet this bastard."

She shook her head. "I'm not telling. You'll meet him soon enough. And you're not 'screwed,' Katsuya. I'll make sure they won't kill you, though I can't guarantee you won't sustain any bodily injury at all."

He decided it was a good time to start writing his will. "I'm so fucking screwed..."

...

Yamato Kimiko slammed the day's edition of _Domino Times_. The two office tables facing each other shook. The other reporter that sat across from her looked up. She yanked her chair out and plopped down on her seat. She glared at the paper.

Kujaku Makoto, the reporter who sat across from her, snickered. "What's wrong, Kimiko-chan? An intern get in your way or something?"

"That bastard, Honda, edited my article out again!" She glared at the newspaper as if this was its fault.

Makoto walked around their desks and slung an arm around her shoulder. "Kimiko-chan, I told you not to pry into Honda-san's life, especially when it comes to his fiancée. You know how protective he is of her."

Kimiko shrugged his arm off. "I don't care. He has no right. He's had it in for me since I published that article about Kaiba Seto. I'm a reporter! It's my duty to expose the under seams of society. The public has a right to know and I have a duty to report it."

He tweaked her nose. "Face it, Kimiko-chan, you're just a busybody and a gossip, and you know it. Not that it's really your fault, you started in the entertainment section. They left you with a bad habit of looking for scandal."

She jerked away and turned her death glare to him. "I bet Kaiba paid Honda to keep me down. I'll show him."

He rolled his eyes. "You know Kaiba Seto could care any less about what you wrote anymore than he cares who you are. Any slight on Kaiba-san's reputation is one on his spokesperson. You know that man takes his job very seriously. And here's a little advice, I'd lay low for a while if I were you."

She stabbed her pencil into her desk. "And they say I have problems. That man has some control issues. No wonder, he's dating his psychologist."

"Malik Ishtar has connections you don't want to mess with. Journalism is a combination of noble and some not-so-noble compromises. We don't ask certain questions just begging to be asked if we want to get picked on at the next press conference. And Malik has the power to make or break your career as a journalist."

She wanted to wipe that smug little smirk off his face with her fist. "Yeah, well, I got some connections too," she pulled a slip of paper from her pocket and waved it in front of Makoto's face. "You'll never guess what I found out. Date and time of Joey Katsuya's arrival at the New Narita Airport."

Makoto lunged at her and tried to grab the paper. She pushed her chair away and he crashed into her desk. He did the only thing he could. He dropped to his knees and begged. "Please let me see! You know how big of a fan I am!"

Kimiko snorted. "That's only because you'd like to get him into your bed," she smirked. "I'm going to get the real story straight out of Joey's mouth. The paper won't be able to turn down a break-through like that." She looked down at him. "If you're good, I'll let you tag along."

He nodded in earnest. "I'll do anything!"

"Good," her grin widened. "There's plenty you can do for me."

...

Mutou Yugi tugged uncomfortably at his black suit. His wife, Mutou Anzu, stood besides him in a solid black kimono with only a string of pearl around her neck. Their hands were intertwined, seeking whatever comfort they could get from each other. They were greeting the condolence callers at the door to the ceremony hall. The air was thick with the scent of incense.

Yugi's mother, Akane, was kneeling by the altar, dressed in the white shinishozoku. It was a disturbing contrast to the sea of black. Many of Sugoroku's acquaintances in life roamed the room. They were all gathered in little groups near the wall as they waited for the wake to begin. Yugi was mildly pleased that so many of his grandfather's friends had been able to attend the wake on such short notice, even Rebecca Hopkins and her aged grandfather had made it.

Mutou Sugoroku had passed away unexpectedly about two weeks ago, despite all signs of being perfectly healthy. He had, at least, died peacefully in his sleep. It was a terrible blow to the Mutou family though, both emotionally and financially. With Anzu, pregnant and unable to work, and the game shop hadn't been doing as well as Yugi would have liked, the expenses of the preparations for the funeral were a bit overwhelming. Yugi shook his head. This was not the time to be worrying about money.

The apparition of the other Yugi slipped up besides him. It was improper for Yugi to wear the Millennium Puzzle to the ceremony, but he had set the Puzzle by the altar so his other self could still attend the wake. The other Yugi simply stood besides Yugi and he was grateful for that.

Yugi turned his attention to the new arrivals. A tiny grin slipped across his features. "Everyone..." He should have expected that they'd come together.

Shizuka ran up to Anzu first and embraced the older woman. "Oh Anzu-san. How do you feel?"

Malik Ishtar and Bakura Ryou approached Yugi first, hand in hand. They presented him with a blank envelope. Yugi glanced at them with a questioning gaze. "It's koden (1)," Bakura supplied before frowning. "Don't tell me no one else has given you any."

Yugi shook his head. "Oh, no. We've gotten so. It's just that you didn't have to."

Malik scratched the back of his head. "Yea, Ryou took care of that. This is my first Japanese funeral." He glanced around nervously as if someone or something was going to jump him.

Isis Ishtar slapped her brother over the head. "It's a wake and if you had only read up on it like I told you to."

Yugi stared at Isis in surprise. "Isis-san, I wasn't aware that you were in Japan."

Isis smiled. "I just flew in yesterday. Rishid is taking care of everything in Egypt so I could come visit Malik. I'm sorry for your loss, Yugi, and I thought I should come and pay my respects." She handed him her koden.

"Thank you, Isis-san."

Kaiba rolled his eyes and handed Yugi his own koden.

Yugi stared at Kaiba with wide violet eyes. "I can't take that, Kaiba-kun."

"And why not?" Kaiba asked.

Malik snorted. "Because knowing you, you nut, you probably gave him a year's salary right there."

"Just take it, Yugi," Kaiba grunted. "You need it."

Yugi accepted the check with trembling hands. "Thanks, Kaiba-kun, Bakura-kun, Malik-kun, and Isis-san." Someone stuck another envelope in Yugi's face. He blinked.

"From me and Shizuka." Honda muttered.

Yugi smiled. "Arigato, Honda-kun."

Anzu and Shizuka were chatting quietly on the side.

Shizuka placed a hand over Anzu's bulging stomach. She gasped slightly. "He kicked!" She twirled around and grabbed Honda's hand. "The baby kicked, Hiroto," she sighed. "I want a baby..."

Honda could only blush in response.

"Not until you're married, young lady." Kaiba scowled, sound all too much like a certain absent brother.

"So when's the bun in the oven going to be ready?" Malik pulled his hand away from Anzu's abdomen.

"Two more months," Anzu stared at the floor with downcast eyes. Her grip on Yugi's hand tightened. "I just wished Ojii-san had lived long enough to see his great-grandson."

Bakura tugged on Malik's sleeve and led his lover to the altar. They knelt down and Malik stared at the altar, unsure of what to do. After watch Bakura bow his head three times to the floor, he followed suit. Instead of offering incense (the tray was already full from all the previous arrivals), they each placed a Duel Monsters card on the altar. Bakura gazed fondly on his Change of Heart card that rested next to Malik's Revive Slime. They preceeded to bow again to Akane afterwards.

Shizuka and Isis followed them. Shizuka offered a sketch of the Black Magician and Isis the Reverse World card.

Honda turned to Kaiba, Anzu, and Yugi. "We have to talk later." With those words, he went to make his own offering of the Commander card.

Kaiba nodded to Yugi and Anzu. He knelt down before the altar. He bowed three times and looked up at the photograph on the altar. He laid his card among the various other trinkets offered. It was the Korean Blue Eyes White Dragon. He was surprised to see the English Blue Eyes he had ripped some thirteen years back laying among the offerings. He looked back up at the photo. "I never did apologize for that, Mutou-san. I'm sorry. Better late than never, huh? A Blue Eyes for a Blue Eyes." He felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to meet Yugi's gaze.

Yugi smiled fondly at the picture of his grandfather. "He knows, Kaiba-kun. Come on, the wake's about to start."

...

After the wake, Yugi led Anzu, Honda, and Kaiba to a private room where they could talk. They all settled down on the couch in the room and waited for Honda to report whatever news he had.

"Is the other Yugi here? You're not wearing the Puzzle today."

Yugi tugged at his tie. "Don't worry, he's here. I'm not wearing the Puzzle, but I still brought it to the wake." He glanced to his side where the shadowy ghost of his other self stood against the wall.

The other Yugi nodded to his aibou. "Just tell him to say whatever he needs to say. I can hear him."

Yugi relayed his other half's message to Honda. The man chewed nervously on his lower lip and took a deep breath. "Kaiba, remember what we talked about a few weeks ago at Shizuka-chan's last exhibition?" He glanced at Kaiba out of the corner of his eyes.

Kaiba paled. "You don't mean..."

Honda nodded gravely. "That's it."

"What's it? Anzu glanced between Kaiba and Honda, searching for some kind of clue to what they were saying.

"Jounouchi." Kaiba muttered. He clenched his fist and stared down at his lap.

Yugi leapt to his feet as the other Yugi jumped forward. "Jounouchi-kun? You found him!" They exclaimed in unison though you could only hear Yugi's voice.

Kaiba leaned back in his seat and massaged his temple. "Yes, that mutt is still alive, would have spared us a lot of trouble if he wasn't."

Anzu glared at Kaiba before her gaze softened. "Don't say that, Kaiba-kun, you know you don't mean it. There's no point to trying to pretend like you don't care about him. We all know."

"Whatever." Kaiba turned away.

Honda cleared his throat. "Anyway, Jounouchi is an American movie star now. He calls himself Joey Katsuya. There are rumors running around on the web that Joey is actually the brother of Japanese artist, Jounouchi Shizuka. Someone released his real name on the internet and now there's a storm. All the American tabloids are scrambling to get the story and the Japanese media has just caught wind of it. I'm not sure how much longer I can keep this from Shizuka."

"We shouldn't be keeping it from Shizuka-chan. She'll be so mad once she finds out you've been keeping this from her, Honda." Anzu shook her head.

Honda threw his hands in the air. "I wanted to break it to her gently! You remember how depressed she was for months when Jounouchi ran away. Now I can't keep it from her even if I wanted to! Jounouchi's coming back to Japan this weekend!"

"This weekend?" Yugi squeaked. "What are we going to do?"

Honda threw himself down the the couch opposite Yugi and them. "He's arriving at New Narita Saturday morning. There's bound to be tons of reporters there to receive him. I'm going to make sure he doesn't do something stupid again. But Saturday's my day off and Shizuka's rest day, I don't know what I'll do."

Anzu sat up straighter in her seat. "Don't worry, I'll keep her busy. I'll make sure she doesn't turn on the TV or anything." She gave Honda a thumbs-up. "Just pound some sense into Jounouchi's thick head for me."

"I'm going with you." Kaiba's voice brooked no arguments. A certain fire in his eyes, one that they had thought to be extinguished years ago, was apparent.

Yugi looked over to his other half. The other Yugi smirked and nodded. "And we're going with you too!"

...

Jounouchi stretched his arms. "I hate airplanes. They're too cramped for my taste."

Sophia snorted. "We were traveling first class. We had four times as much space as couch."

They picked up their luggage and left the custom inspection area. People pushed and shoved, rushing along with their daily lives. Businessmen were yelling into their cellphones as children cried to their mothers. Jounouchi had forgotten how crowded and cramped Japan was. It made LA look like the countryside (2).

Sophia looked around. "Our contact should be meeting us here."

"You make it sound like we're on a secret mission."

She glared at him and he shut his mouth. She continued to search for her target. Suddenly, she stopped. "Oh shit..."

He looked up andfroze in terror. "Double shit..."

A group of reporters and cameras came flying in their directions. Jounouchi had to turn away from them so he wasn't blinded by the collective flashes of the cameras. He jumped back as someone stuck a video camera in his face.

"Joey-san, is it true that your real name is Jounouchi Katsuya?"

"Are you related to Jounouchi Shizuka?"

Jounouchi glanced around him. He was trapped. No one was supposed to know their arrival time at the airport. He had been looking forward to that bit of peace, quiet, and anonymity.

Sophia stepped in front of Jounouchi. She cleared her throat. The reporters continued with their questions. "Excuse me!" She screamed in English. The lobby was silent as her voice echoed off the walls. She switched to Japanese. "Joey will not be taking any questions today. As you are aware of, Joey already has a lot of interviews lined up in the next few months. He'll be more than happy to answer your questions then."

The reporters were silent for a few more seconds. The noise started up again and so did the questions.

Sophia took deep breaths, counting to ten under her breath. He looked at her nervously before edging away. She turned her wrath openly onto the journalists. "Didn't you hear what I said, you blockheads!"

The lobby became silent again. All occupants of the room stared at Sophia with wide eyes.

"Jounouchi-kun!"

His head snapped up. His heart froze. He knew that voice... But the last time he heard it was ten long years ago... "Yugi...?"

The mob of journalists parted like the Red Sea. Yugi ran up to him and stopped right in front of Sophia. He bent over and tried to catch his breath. He looked up and smiled that wonderful smile of his. "Jounouchi-kun..."

"Jounouchi, you bastard!"

Honda appeared suddenly in front of Jounouchi and grabbed the lapels of his shirt. "I'm going to kill you for what you put Shizuka-chan through!"

Yugi tugged on Honda's arm. "Let go of him, Honda. We should be happy Jounouchi-kun is back!"

Cameras flashed with a storm of shutters.

"It's Jounouchi-sensei's fiancé."

"So it is true!"

Honda shook Jounouchi. "Do you hear me, Jounouchi? How could you just get up and leave like that?"

Jounouchi stared past his old friend. He couldn't even feell Honda shaking him. Kaiba... He saw Kaiba watching from afar with those blue eyes. Kaiba was almost lost in the faceless crowd that chose to ignore Jounouchi. Their eyes met and locked.

...

"Shizuka-chan, would you like something to drink?" Anzu hovered in the kitchen doorway.

The other woman stood up from the sofa. "I can get it myself, Anzu-san. You shouldn't be moving around so much!"

Anzu waved the younger woman away. "You're a guest in my house and I'm the hostess. So sit right back down."

"Let me help." Bakura, whom had been let in on what was going on last minute with Malik, jumped to his feet. The two disappeared into the kitchen.

Shizuka sighed andlooked around the living room. Yugi's house never changed. It looked as it always had. Anzu did give it a woman's touch that had been lacking before since Yugi's mother was rarely home. Various photos and trinkets laid around the house. They weren't arranged in any particular manner. They just fell in with the general decor of the house without effort.

She picked up one of the frames off a shelf. The photo had been taken at her brother's graduation. Almost everyone was in the picture. Yugi, Anzu, Bakura, Honda, Kaiba, Mokuba, Yugi's grandfather, her Onii-chan... Even in the picture, Jounouchi was standing as far away from Kaiba as possible. If only the two had been able to work things out as normal people then things would be different that day. She set the frame back down. It was just too painful to think about...

She settled back down on the couch. The other two were taking a long time. She could hear the faint whispers of a quiet conversation through the kitchen door. Honda had been acting weird that morning. It almost felt like everyone was trying to hide something from her. It wasn't everyday that Honda, Kaiba, and Yugi made a trip together down to Tokyo for no apparent reason. It was just too quiet... She picked up the remote control on the coffee table and turned on the television.

"Shizuka-chan! Don't!" Anzu came rushing into the room without warning.

"This is not good." Bakura muttered. Shizuka had turned to one of the music and movie channels.

Shizuka stared at the screen with an open mouth. There was her fiancé holding her brother by the lapel of his shirt. "Onii-chan...? Hiroto? This is a joke right?" She looked up at Anzu and Bakura with tears shining in her eyes.

"Oh, Shizuka-chan, I'm so sorry." Anzu embraced the other woman tightly.

...

Jounouchi couldn't tear his eyes away. Kaiba...was as handsome as he remembered. Kaiba was still Kaiba. He shivered. He could feel the other man's steel gaze pierce through his soul. Kaiba's eyes had always had that effect on Jounouchi. His world began to spin.

Honda left go of Jounouchi's shirt and stepped back. Maybe it would be best to let Kaiba handle this. Sophia stood in the background and waited for this drama to play out.

Kaiba approached the small group with slow and deliberate steps. Cameras clicked and more questions flew over them. He stopped right in front of Jounouchi. "You came back... Jounouchi..." His eyes were unfathomable.

Jounouchi never knew his name could sound so beautiful until that moment. The colors around him blurred and the world around him almost fell to pieces. "Kaiba..." He could hear his heart pounding in his ears.

A sudden fist that connected with his abdomen caught Jounouchi by surprise. His vision darkened. The floor loomed dangerously close as his legs gave out under him.

"KATSUYA!"

Was it Sophia...?

He was falling...

Eyelids fluttered closed...

Was it going to hurt when he hit the bottom...?

A familiar pair of arms caught him.

He never hit the floor.

The embrace tightened...

Drowning...

Drowning in a sea of stormy blue...

_Jounouchi..._

I'm home...

He smiled. Only a fleeting moment of comfort...but it was more than enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1) koden- The Koden has originated from returning the money for the incense. At present this system has been established for the purpose of giving an offering to the deceased and reducing a financial burden of the family based on the concept of the funeral rite as an affair relating to the whole community.
> 
> (2) Japan is a very small country with a very large population. Although it does not boost the largest population, it has one of the largest population-density. It results in overcrowding, especially in modern cities like Tokyo.
> 
> Despite the fact that Shizuka's official surname is actually Kawai, I decided to use Jounouchi for the purpose of this story. Obviously, it relates the two more readily.


	4. Track 3- White Flag

_Like a ripple breaking across the surface of the pond, the strange weight upon my mind broke apart. You know that cliché? The light at the end of the tunnel. I think I've found it. My body pitched forward and I ached like hell. It felt like I've been hit by an eighteen-wheeler. The tears... I was crying... Why was I crying?_

_I looked across from me and I saw Yugi. It couldn't be Yugi though. He was crying too, at least on the verge of tears. The heavy weight of the Millennium Puzzle around my neck dragged me down. My mind reeled back, still recovering and trying to grasp some sense of a viable reality. Why did I have the Puzzle? _

_"I like Jounouchi-kun the best." _

_It happened all too quickly. Yugi collapsed under the mental trauma of the Death Meteor hologram. I silently cursed Kaiba. Why the fuck did he have to make those damn holograms so real? The box at my feet popped open. There was a key. _

_"What are you waiting for?" _

_I looked over to the side. Kaiba... _

_"Get the key and get out of there! There's only twenty seconds left!" _

_No, I don't think so Kaiba. No way in hell I was just going to leave Yugi there. I clenched my fists tightly. "Red Eyes! Attack me! Make my lifepoints zero!" _

_Once again I cursed Kaiba. It hurt like hell. It really did. I almost thought I was just going to fall apart right there. I stumbled on my feet. The box on Yugi's side opened. There was no time to save myself. No. Worry about Yugi first. I threw the Millennium Puzzle and my Duel Disk down. Don't get me wrong, they were both very important to me and all but I had to save Yugi first or none of it meant anything. _

_I grabbed the chain and swung myself across the expanse of the platform. I reached for the key. I strained. _

_0 seconds left... _

_I was out of time._

_The stupid shit above us exploded. Pieces of wood were flying everywhere. I still managed to grab the key just as Yugi and me were dragged into the ocean by the sinking anchor. I swam over to Yugi and shoved the key into the handcuff's keyhole. I felt the click of the lock. Yugi just floated up toward the surface. For once, I was grateful for his shorter and lighter form. Even though he was unconscious, at least he wouldn't drown. _

_I tried the key on my own handcuff. No such luck. Figured that stupid bastard Malik wouldn't take any chances. I could hold my breath for about a minute and fifteen seconds at best. At least I knew Yugi will be fine. Kaiba'll be there to help him out. It seemed unfair. I didn't want to die yet and certainly not like that. _

_The lack of oxygen to my brain was making me feel faint. And I was still sinking. I wondered if I'm going to die first from the lack of oxygen or the pressure of the deeper ocean. Stupid Malik... Him and his damn obsession with Yugi and those goddamn God Cards. Stupid Kaiba. Him and his stupid holograms as well as his stupid obsession with the God Cards. What was with everyone and these God Cards? This was all his fault I tried to tell myself. I knew I didn't believe it but it was worth the try. I couldn't hate the guy no matter how hard I tried to. And no, I wasn't thinking straight anymore. _

_Someone or something grabbed my arm and pulled me close. I tried to see who or what it is but my vision was out of focus. I think it was... Kaiba... Who knew that rich boy would be willing to get wet to save little old me? Maybe it was just my imagination but I'm pretty sure it was the guy. I felt the weight of steel around my wrist vanish. I was free. I have the feeling we were a long way down though. I think I had fallen too far. I...wasn't so sure I was going to make it to the surface. I think he saw that too. I had been underwater for too long. _

_My savior grabbed my chin and jerked it up. I felt the slight pressure on my lips. I was being kissed. Hell, I was being frenched. My first instinct was to resist but he wouldn't relent. It was kind of nice. No... I felt a bit of oxygen reach my lungs. He was giving me air. I clung to him. I wasn't sure if I had the strength to get out of there. He wrapped his arms around my waist and dragged me back to the surface. I broke the surface of the water and gasped for breath. I was still clinging to him...even as darkness overtook me..._

...

The woman who had been with Jounouchi paced back and forth across the room. She mumbled something incoherent under her breath and threw the impassive Kaiba, leaning against the wall, a murderous look. Jounouchi was being checked over by the doctor in the next room over. The other Yugi was observing the woman with that tiny little smirk Yugi had seen him wear for years. It usually meant the spirit had something devious in mind.

The other Yugi looked back at Yugi. _Do you think she's-_

Yugi scowled at his other half. _Don't even say it. You know it's not true._

The other Yugi smirked. _Whoever she is, she's going to make things interesting around here._

"Would you stop pacing?" Kaiba snapped. "It's very annoying." The sound of the woman's pacing was beginning to grate on his nerves.

She whirled around and lunged at him. "You fucking bastard."

Kaiba caught her fist but refrained from performing the reverse lock move he was so accustomed to in these situations. It would not go well for him to gravely injure Jounouchi's manager. He suppressed the inevitable growl that rose in his throat. This woman was head-strong, violent, and reckless. Just like Jounouchi. He could see why they were together now.

"You're as reckless as that mutt."

He watched as she only became more enraged at his words. Too easy. Just too easy to rile up and gouge a reaction from. She pulled back and her foot connected with his stomach.

Kaiba released her as his breath came rushing out of him. He clutched his abdomen. Shit. The woman could kick. It wasn't so much as her strength as those pin-heels she wore.

"Sophie! Have you gone mad? You nearly punctured his stomach!"

Jounouchi came running into the room and pulled the older woman away from Kaiba before she could inflict any further damage.

"The fucker needed to be taught a lesson," she snarled as Kaiba straightened himself. "Better yet, you'll be hearing from our lawyer."

Kaiba smirked. "I'm sure that'll do a lot. Waste both of our time, waiting for court dates and arraignment, only to have me pay a compensation I'll be more than able to afford."

"Stop being such an ass, Kaiba." Jounouchi snapped. "You're not helping the situation. You have no idea how unstable this lunatic is."

Sophia turned around and slapped Jounouchi over the head. "Who the hell are you calling unstable?"

"Who else but the raving mad woman standing in the waiting room? For God's sake, Sophia, can't I ever take you anywhere without us ending up in a courtroom? And the property damage! Just let it go for once." Jounouchi rubbed his head.

She sent one last nasty glare at Kaiba and began fussing over the blonde instead. She grabbed his arm and dragged him down onto a chair before she attacked the doctor, "What's wrong with him? I know he got punched and all but he shouldn't have fainted like that."

The doctor flipped through his notes. "Joey-san is a bit malnourished and dehydrated. You should get him to eat a healthy meal and make him rest for a few hours. He's overexerting himself."

Yugi turned back to Jounouchi. "How do you feel, Jounouchi-kun?"

Jounouchi ran a hand through his messy blond hair. "Frankly, like crap but I'll live."

Sophia bent down and grabbed Jounouchi's earlobe. "I told you to eat something on the plane but would you listen? No!"

"Shit, Sophie, let go, that hurts like hell."

She tugged harder. "You're not getting off so easy. I can't have you fainting during an interview or on camera. Do you have any idea what kind of image that brings?"

"Ok, ok! Just let go of my freaking ear! You have no idea how strong you are."

Sophia snorted and pulled away. "Correction, I know exactly how strong I am and I use it as I see fit."

The doctor chuckled. "Joey-san, you're very lucky to have such a caring girlfriend." He bowed to the group and left them.

Sophia and Jounouchi stared at each other.

Kaiba felt himself stiffen despite himself. He shouldn't care. He really shouldn't. It only confirmed his earlier suspicions though... No, he didn't care at all.

Sophia jumped back and made a disgusted face. "He thinks you and I are... Yuck!"

Jounouchi looked like he was going to throw up. "I hate it when people think that. It's so gross."

Honda's eyes swept between the two of them. He seemed surprised at their violent reaction to the doctor's not-so-subtle implications. "You mean you two aren't-"

"Hell no! I think of Katsuya as my son, that'd be like-"

"Incest." Jounouchi finished with a shiver.

Yugi laughed softly at the two of them. He looked up at Honda. "Couldn't you tell? Jounouchi-kun and Sophia-san are too alike to make a couple. They'd kill each other first."

Sophia snorted and tossed her hair back. "I beg to differ. I'm far more beautiful and elegant than Katsuya."

"Modest, isn't she?" Jounouchi rolled his eyes. "She forgot to mention that she's also violent, doesn't think half the time, perverted, and down-right psychotic. I swear she's bipolar too."

She faked a punch at him before she remembered something. "Katsuya, go get the car in the parking lot," she tossed him the keys. "I have to finish some paperwork first."

Jounouchi caught the keys and twirled the ring of keys around his index finger. "You brought your freaking car to Japan? Haven't you ever heard of traffic congestion before? And when the hell did you find the time to go get it?"

Sophia shrugged. "While you were unconscious. I dropped by the docks and picked it up. Don't look so surprised. Besides, it's for when we're in Domino. Traffic's no worse there than in New York."

Jounouchi jumped to his feet. "I swear you love that car more than me."

She nodded and grinned at him in a sickeningly sweet manner. "Of course, and if I see even one scratch or dent, your ass is grass."

Jounouchi grumbled something inaudible as he spun around on his heels. Kaiba watched as Jounouchi vanished around the corner.

"Are you sure he should be driving in his condition?" Yugi furrowed his brow.

"Don't worry, I just told him to bring the car around. He should be fine." Sophia began digging around the inside of her handbag. "I know I had some business cards around here somewhere. Ah ha! Found them!" she pulled out some cards and shoved one into each men's hand. "Katsuya and I will be in Domino in about another two weeks. We have a lot of things we need to finish up here in Tokyo first. Call me sometime. Maybe, I don't know, we can set up a reunion or party of some sort." She winked.

She glanced at her watch. "Looks like I'll have to cancel tonight's dinner."

The three men in the room stared oddly at her.

"How rude of me, I still haven't introduced myself. Sophia Chang, Katsuya's manager slash agent slash publicist. I hope we'll have an opportunity to work together in the near future."

Kaiba could begin to see why Jounouchi thought this woman was bipolar, or at least, had a split personality.

...

Yugi winced at the sound of the argument taking place in his kitchen. He had never thought that Shizuka would react so violently to this turn of events.

"I am not a child, Hiroto!"

"Shizuka-chan, please calm down, please be reasonable."

The conversation on the other side of the door quieted down. Yugi wasn't sure if that was a good sign or not.

"I knew we should have just told her." Anzu muttered under her breath as she paced across the room.

Yugi stood and laid a hand on his wife's forearm. "Sit down, Anzu. You shouldn't be moving around like that. Honda-kun and Shizuka-chan just need some time to work things out. I'm more worried about what Malik-kun will do to Kaiba-kun."

"I know, I know. I think we should have been honest from the start. This is Jounouchi we're talking about. Her brother finally comes home after almost eleven years and she finds out from TV when her fiancé knew all along."

Yugi rubbed soothing circles into the back of Anzu's hand. "Honda-kun was just worried about Shizuka-chan. He wanted to get a straight answer out of Jounouchi-kun before letting Jounouchi-kun see Shizuka-chan. It would have been a great shock to Shizuka-chan either way."

The kitchen door hit the wall with a bang. Shizuka raced past them and out the door without a word.

"Shizuka!" Anzu jumped to her feet.

Yugi pulled Anzu back down to her seat on the couch. He looked toward Honda. "What are you waiting for? Go after her!"

Honda looked away. His fists were clenched tightly at his side. "She's just going to stay with Michi-san."

Anzu shrugged off her husband's hand and approached the other man. "Honda? What happened? Don't just stand there like a lump of rice!"

"I have no right." Honda unfurled his fist. A perfect gold engagement ring laid on his palm.

...

"Seto-sama, the head of PR is here to see you."

"Send him in."

Malik strolled into his office as if he owned the place. The other man was comfortable in any part of the building. Kaiba ignored Malik as the Egyptian loosened his tie and sat down at the chair before his desk. He did feel a slight tick in the corner of his left eye when Malik placed his feet up onto his desk.

"Do you mind, Ishtar?"

Malik glared at his employer. "Shut up. I deserve this after the crap you pulled. Do you have any idea what a media circus it has been all morning? I had to fight reporters all the way from the parking lot to my office."

"It's your job."

Malik threw his hands into the air, "I'm beginning to see why the last guy quit."

Kaiba smirked. "It's because you don't inspire any feeling of authority whatsoever."

"Then why did you hire me? I'm this close to quitting right now."

"It was partly at your sister's insistence. You're welcome to go back and work with her in the Antiquities Service." Kaiba raised an eyebrow.

Malik paled slightly at the mention of his sister. "Forget it. I'll take you as boss over Isis any day."

"Good," Kaiba smiled smugly. "I believe an official statement needs to be released about my most inappropriate behavior towards Jounouchi Katsuya. I'll leave that to you."

Malik slapped his forehead. "I hate my life."

...

Makoto threw down his light jacket onto his couch. The office had been unusually cold. He had alreadybegun to plot the demise of that wretched air conditioner. It certainly didn't help that he originally had low body temperature. The answering machine on the end table next to his sofa was flashing red.

He pressed the button to hear his messages on his way to the kitchen to get a drink.

"You have three unheard messages."

"First unheard message."

Beep.

"…"

"Second unheard message."

Beep.

"…"

"Third unheard message."

Beep.

"…"

Makoto gulped down his glass of water. He glared at his machine. Who the hell kept calling and leaving these waste-of-space messages? He simply deleted them without a second thought. He was just about to go his computer to finish his latest editorial article when his phone rang. He jumped.

Makoto cursed as he picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"…"

He frowned at the mouthpiece. "Come on, I don't have all day."

"…"

"Look, I don't have time for this. Just stop calling and-"

"Makoto, it's me."

He blinked. It was a female voice. Who could be calling him but his co-workers? He certainly didn't have any ex-girlfriends. "Who?"

An exasperated sigh. "Your cousin, genius."

"Cousin?"

"Your only cousin, Mai."

"Mai? We haven't spoken in over fifteen years. Why the hell are you calling me now?"

Silence at first. "You're a reporter right, Makoto? I need to know…"

"Spit it out already!"

"Was that really Jounouchi Katsuya on TV last Saturday?"

...

"Where are we going, Sophie?"

Sophia sighed as she drummed her fingers against the steering wheel. "I told you already, a party."

Jounouchi frowned and leaned back in the passenger's seat. "Why do I feel like you're leading me to the gallows?"

"Don't be stupid," she rolled her eyes. "You've been through tons of these parties before. This is a special occasion of sort but that's besides the point. You're the guest of honor so you have to be there."

Jounouchi rolled his eyes. The past two weeks had been hell for him. No matter who interviewed him or what variety show he appeared on, they all insisted on talking and asking about the incident with Kaiba. Like any sane target of the mass media, he had denied any and every type of relationship with the CEO that was out of the ordinary. In fact, he had been tempted numerous times to say he didn't know the other man or what brought on the attack. Sophia, of course, had to point out how flawed that plan was. Anyone who looked up his history would see he attended high school with Kaiba and they were in the same class for three years. Not to mention the many Duel Monsters tournament Jounouchi had participated in alongside Kaiba.

He really did hate his manager slash agent slash publicist sometimes. The woman was impossible. She most definitely took the phrase, "any press is good press," to the extreme.

"Oh! Found it!"

She pulled up to the giant black gates. Jounouchi leaned his head over the side of the convertible. It was a big house, a mansion to be precise. He whistled lowly. He didn't even see such a big mansion in Beverly Hills. While Sophia was busy conversing over the intercom system, Jounouchi busied himself but studying the architecture of the mansion. The black gates surrounding the premises did seem very hostile and uninviting though.

The mansion was brightly illuminated. Light shone through most of the high and tall windows of the first floor. He almost expected to be able to hear the sound of music and party conversations this far away but it was quiet. Sophia drove the car up the rounded driveway and stopped at the steps leading up to the front doors. Jounouchi took a deep breath as he gazed at the gothic mansion up close. The dread in the bottom of his stomach would not leave him.

Sophia had already gotten out of the car. She glanced at Jounouchi worriedly with the unspoken question of "are you coming?" hanging in the air between them. He shook his head and followed his manager. She pressed the doorbell and they waited for someone to answer the door. Jounouchi found it strange. Usually there was a valet to park your car and the doors should have already been open with someone to greet you.

She offered him her hand. He stared at it for a moment before taking it just as the door opened. A butler dressed in the usual black and white suit greeted them with a bow. He stepped aside and gestured for them to enter. Jounouchi stared up at the expansive foyer and shook off the feeling he should know where they were.

"If you'll follow me to the dining hall, they're waiting for you."

Jounouchi stared down at the marble floor. His eyes followed the black and white swirls along the way. They stopped in front of another pair of large oak doors. He could hear the sounds beyond the door quiet down. The butler rested his hands on the golden door handles and pulled the doors open.

A sudden blur of auburn rammed into Jounouchi, knocking the wind out of him.

"ONII-CHAN!"

Jounouchi stared down in shock at his little sister with her arms wrapped tightly around his waist. He looked up to meet the smiling gazes of his long-time friends.

...

Kaiba rarely lost his patience when it came to his little brother, but it was happening more and more. He tried to ignore the young man that refused to leave him alone. He shifted through another pile of documents as he attempted to block out Mokuba's tirade.

"Nii-sama, come on! Rebecca-chan's not letting me come back without you. She spent so much time and energy planning this party. You could at least just show up for a few minutes before you lock yourself in your study again." Mokuba whined, sounding very much like his younger self.

Kaiba pushed his bangs out of his eyes. "Mokuba, I have a lot more important things to do right now. This party is the least of my concern."

Mokuba opened his mouth to continue his protest.

"Enough," Kaiba returned to his typing. "It took me months to break that bastard down. I need to get this deal settled before he changes his mind again. Jounouchi has enough people to welcome him home. Isn't it enough that I've given use of the mansion to your girlfriend already?"

"Would this have something to do with you knocking out Jounouchi on national TV?"

Kaiba shot his brother a wilting glare across the top of his computer screen.

Mokuba threw his hands into the air. "Honestly, Nii-sama! You're always lecturing me on decorum and proper public conduct and then you go out and do shit like this. You're a fucking hypocrite."

"I'm glad you finally noticed."

Mokuba glared at his brother, though his glower was nowhere near as potent. "Come on, think of it as establishing good business ties then. Jounouchi's well on his way to becoming a star. He could be a spokesperson or something. That's always good for sales."

Kaiba simply raised an eyebrow, questioning his little brother with that one action.

Mokuba growled under his breath. "You better come with me or there's going to be a lot of missing documents and misplaced files for the next two months."

Kaiba paused in his typing. "You wouldn't dare."

Mokuba straightened his posture. "Watch me."

"Very well, but let me finish up first." Kaiba sighed.

"Oh no you don't. Now. I'm not letting you stall."

Kaiba saved and closed his applications. He moved as slowly as he could, much to Mokuba's annoyance.

Mokuba furrowed his brow. "I hope you'll behave. Be civil with Jounouchi at least. He's done so much for us already."

Kaiba wondered how his little brother could be so oblivious to his real feelings. Even Rebecca could see, though she didn't care to enlighten her boyfriend.

"Mokuba, don't talk about things you know nothing about."

...

"Welcome home, Jounouchi-kun."

The smile on Yugi's face was as endearing as ever. He never realized how much he had missed that smile, Anzu's lectures, and Honda's antics until now. He wrapped his arms around Shizuka and returned the loving embrace.

"I really missed you, Onii-chan. Please don't leave like that again."

Jounouchi felt his throat close up. He shook his head. "I'll try."

Shizuka disentangled herself from his arms. She wiped away the stray tears trailing down her cheeks. "I guess…that's the best answer I can hope for right now."

"Young man, I should ground you for the rest of your life!"

Jounouchi laughed as he swept his mother into a hug. "I missed you too, Okaa-san."

Michi tried to maintain her glower but she found her anger fast fading. "I should skin you alive. Do you have any idea what you put everyone through?" The volume of her voice dropped suddenly. "Do you know what you put Kaiba-san through?"

Jounouchi looked away. He didn't want to think of Kaiba right now. "We'll talk about this later."

As soon as he stepped away from his mother, he was tackled by Anzu.

"You idiot!" She was crying freely now. "Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!"

"You'll have to forgive her. She's been moody because of the baby."

Jounouchi's wide eyes stared at Anzu's bulged abdomen. "Anzu, you're pregnant!"

The tears vanished as quickly as they started. "Thank you for noticing."

"Yugi, you dog!" Jounouchi laughed.

Yugi's face flushed red and he turned away. When he turned to face Jounouchi again, Jounouchi found a pair of red eyes boring into his soul.

"Good to see you're still around, Yami…"

Yami, it was a name Jounouchi had come up with. The former pharaoh had long recovered his memories and name but he felt his former name, Atem, was no longer fit for him. Yami, that was the name he answered to in his present incarnation.

Jounouchi had to smile at the sarcasm in Yami's voice. "I am dead, I'm not going anywhere."

"Alright, Pharaoh! Stop hogging the pup!"

Jounouchi groaned. "You just had to be here. It was just starting to look like a good night as well."

Malik appeared slightly miffed as he leaned in to nuzzle Bakura's neck. "I just wanted to greet everyone's favorite pup."

"It's good to see you, Jounouchi-kun." Bakura rolled his eyes at his boyfriend and swatted Malik.

Jounouchi smothered his laughter. "About time you two got together. You could cut that sexual tension with a knife."

Malik gasped as an amused light danced in his lavender eyes. "I had no idea you had a penchant forblood in bed!"

Honda appeared at Jounouchi's side and steered the blonde away from the couple. "Careful there. Better to leave the mental patient to his doctor."

Malik stuck his tongue out. "Oh, I intend to play 'doctor' alright."

"Malik!"

Laughter rang through the room.

Jounouchi shook his head. "Strange as it seems, I'm glad he hasn't changed." He turned his attention to the large dining hall. Honda was leading him over to a table set with food and drinks. "This place is huge. Don't tell me one of you actually owns this place."

"Actually, it's Kaiba's."

Why did it always come back to Kaiba in the end?

Jounouchi stared at Honda. "How'd you convince him to let you use his place?"

"He didn't. Mokuba did."

Jounouchi stared at the young woman who had suddenly stepped into his path. She looked familiar but he couldn't recall her name. "Who are you?"

"I see your pea-sized brain has not grown in the past decade." She said with a slight expression of disgust.

Realization stuck Jounouchi. "Good to see you too," then he added for extra measure, "Brat."

Honda shook his head. "If we're unlucky enough, she'll be a Kaiba brat soon too."

"Speaking of which, where is Mokuba?" Rebecca Hopkins muttered. "I didn't send him on an impossible task." She vanished into another room.

"Aren't you going to say hello, Jounouchi?"

Jounouchi whirled around at the sound of his name. His eyes swept up and down the womanly figure. Kujaku Mai was just as he remembered.

"Mai…"


	5. Track 4- Someday

_I needed a break. I had been staring at this computer screen for hours then. The system was only half-way through translating the anarchic writing on the God Card. I leaned back in the thick leather seat and considered getting at least an hour of rest. I shook my head. No. I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. _

_I glanced over to the other side of the darkened room. Mokuba had fallen asleep. I rose from the chair and made my way over to my little brother. I caressed the soft bangs over the boy's forehead. He really resembled our father. I took after our mother. I removed the white trench coat off my back and placed it over him. I didn't want him to catch a cold. I would have moved him into a bed but I didn't want to risk awakening him. _

_Looking back at the computer, I knew it would still be translating for at least another two hours. I left the room. I really needed to stretch my legs or I was going to be sore in the morning. The hallways were still brightly lit at three in the morning. The rest of the duelists were already in bed, asleep and resting for the next day to come. I wished could join them in slumber. I worked too much for my own good. I knew this and I'll pay for it with my health but it was not something for me to worry about then. _

_I found myself on the observatory deck, with its spacious view of the dark ocean below and the velvet night sky. It was quiet and peaceful. The only thing was I was not the only person there. Jounouchi was there also. He leaned against the railing, as if trying to peer into the depths below. I wondered if I should stay or just leave. I didn't want to fight with him today. Then again, I never really wanted to fight with him. _

_He looked like he was deep in thoughts. He closed his eyes and ran a hand through his tousled hair. A strange sense of foreboding hung about him. He tensed. I thought he felt my presence. He turned around very slowly and our eyes met. My gaze swept over his features. Dark haunted eyes... A frown like it was embedded in stone... And there was that purple colored denim jacket in his hands. _

_I glared at the innocent piece of clothing. It was not its fault. It couldn't choose its master. Still I wished the jacket would burn, just burn. Why did he care so much for that woman anyway? It's not like she would have ever made an ideal girlfriend, certainly not tramping around like the slut she was dressed like. _

_"Jounouchi." I regarded him carefully. _

_He turned away from me. "I'm not in the mood for this, Kaiba. Just say what you have to say and get out of here." His hand was still absently caressing the jacket. _

_I snorted. It was a strange sound now that I thought about it. "Still pining after that two-bit blondie? I must say you two are truly two of a kind. Very noble of you to jump out and try and protect her but look at what good that did in the end." I knew there was that horrible sneer on my face that my brother hates so much. _

_He whirled around. Angry. Furious at my words. _

_"Fuck you, Kaiba. It's more than anything you did. You just stood there! Like always!" _

_I can't blame him though. I would be furious with me too. Okay Kaiba, open mouth and insert foot. Too bad I was not that smart. For someone supposedly as brilliant as Einstein, I just didn't know when to shut my mouth. _

_I ignored him though and continued. I couldn't stop then. There were just so many things that needed to be said. I admit it. I was jealous. I was as jealous as hell. I was incredibly jealous of the affection and care Jounouchi has shown to the other blonde duelist and how she reciprocated in turn. And I'm still jealous. I was angry at the fact that the other Yugi had leapt in front of Jounouchi without a second thought. I had been worried about him when both he and the imposter who posed as Malik were struck down by lightning. I was tired of the fact that he accepted everyone but me. I was only a step ahead of Malik on Jounouchi's list and frankly, I didn't like that fact. Not that my behavior ever helped. _

_"Unlike some people, I'm smarter than to go rushing forward into danger without any preparation just because I got the 'hots' for someone. For your information, I was gathering information on Malik's God Card so we can find a clue as to how to defeat it." _

_He simply scoffed. "It's always about those damn God Cards. That's why you held this tournament in the first place, right? Just when I begin to think there's more to you then these fucking stupid power trips, you go and blow it. You know what Kaiba? Fuck you and your God Cards. All that matters now is that Mai wakes up again. I **will** defeat Malik." _

_I turned away then. He would never accept me. Why did I waste such effort on him? _

_"You don't have what it takes, Jounouchi. You're nothing but a third-rate duelist." _

_He struck me. Never mind the fact that he was always trying to hit me, but he actually landed a punch this time. I could only think of one other time something like this had happened. It was when I had first kissed him almost a year before this happened. _

_A nice black and blue bruise bloomed the next morning where his fist had connected with my jaw. Everyone had stared at it then and it even followed me into Noa's virtual world, but that's beside the point. Once again, I admit I deserved it. I was losing control of the situation… But I am Kaiba Seto and Kaiba Seto did not lose control of anything. Nothing! And yet there I stood, blinded by my envy and he by his rage. _

_A subtle hatred burned in his eyes. No, it was not outright, not blazing. That alone had been reserved for Malik at that time. He opened and closed his fist, shifted uneasily, as if itching to take another swing. I probably would have let him if he did try. _

_"Has anyone ever told you how fucked up you are, Kaiba? You should seriously consider a shrink." _

_He had no more to say to me apparently. He left me. He was the one to walk away first. That must have been a first also. I didn't move. I only stared at his back and continued to damn that infernal denim jacket in my mind. I even considered buying an identical one just to have the pleasure of seeing it burn…_

...

Jounouchi allowed Mai to pull him away from the party. Something was not quite right. Besides the very palpable absence of one Kaiba Seto, the smile on Honda's face never fully reached his eyes. A sort of tension hung over the entire group. These were things he wouldn't have noticed in his youth.

But Mai... She was like a breath of fresh air compared to the others right now.

She led him up a flight of stares to the balcony overlooking the spacious front yard and the circular driveway. The night was somewhat cool but not chilly at all. Mai left him by the French door and moved to lean against the railing.

"How long has it been, Jounouchi?"

Her words were so quiet that they were almost lost in the noise of the music and party below.

Jounouchi took a deep breath. When was the last time he had seen Mai? Was it in America, when she had willingly gone over to the side of the enemy in her search for respite from haunting nightmares?

"Twelve, thirteen years now, Mai?"

"Yes." She breathed.

She patted the spot on the railing next to her, signaling for him to join her. Jounouchi moved over to her side.

She continued. "We've been through a lot together, haven't we?"

Jounouchi nodded mutely.

"Duelist Kingdom… Malik… DOOM… But we've always been there for each other."

Jounouchi shook his head. He didn't feel like thinking so much about their shared convoluted pasts. "How have you been these last ten years? What are you doing in Domino? I thought you would never give up your wanderings."

She pushed back a few strands of her hair. "Actually, I have a little boutique in Tokyo where I sell the line of clothing I design. I'm here for the opening of a new one here in Domino next week."

"Congratulations! I'm glad everyone has been doing so good."

Mai chuckled. "Not as well as you," she turned to face him fully. "Look at you now, Jounouchi Katsuya, big bad movie star and teenage heart throb."

"You know you want me too." Jounouchi winked.

Mai rolled her eyes. "I'm going to hurt you if you turn out like Jean Claude Magnum. Looks like all American movie stars do grow large heads."

"As long as you don't go jumping from a kite six stories high again. You fell on me like a ton of bricks."

The laughter in Mai's eyes died suddenly. There was a strange expression on her face, unlike any he had ever seen before. "Thank you Jounouchi. I've never thanked you in all these years for everything you've done for me. I've never had the courage to say this and then you vanished."

She moved to close the distance between them. A pair of headlights drove up the driveway before coming to a stop at the front door. Jounouchi found himself unable to move as he felt her soft lips against his. When she tried to deepen the kiss, he jumped away as if burned.

"I loved you, Jounouchi," she declared. "And I still do."

He turned away. She had kissed him and declared her love for him. He had never thought of her as more than a friend, a very important one, but never more. Jounouchi didn't know how to respond to her advances without breaking her heart or losing her friendship.

His heart sunk further as he continued to examine the kiss in his mind. Kissing her had felt like how it would be like to kiss Shizuka. It wasn't like kissing…Kaiba… He buried his hand in his face. Not at all.

"Jounouchi?"

He lifted his head but not to face Mai. He looked out toward the gates and met with something worse. Standing right below the balcony was Kaiba Seto, staring at him with a strange fire in his eyes. Mokuba looked confused next to his older brother.

"I'm sorry, Mai. I can't…"

Kaiba tore his gaze away first and vanished into his house.

...

Yami left Anzu with Shizuka and Michi. It had been a long time since he had control of Yugi's body. He had never asked in the years past, but the interesting developments of the last few weeks demanded his attention unlike many other things in this modern life. He was glad that Jounouchi had finally returned home. The blonde had always been a valued ally and a most important friend. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he found the fact that Jounouchi played such a similar role to him and Yugi quite amusing.

He wondered what Jounouchi had experienced in these long years. He had grown up a bit. Jounouchi appeared to have kept most of his humor and temperament from his teenage years. He didn't seem quite as reckless as before. To get a full understanding of the present Jounouchi, he thought it best to consult the person who had been by his side since the man left Domino.

Just as Yami was about to approach Sophia, everyone stopped at the sound of a door slamming shut somewhere else in the mansion. It was very eerie how noise resonated in this house sometimes. Moments later, an exasperated Mokuba entered the room and was immediately pulled aside by his girlfriend.

"Seems like Kaiba's upset about something. I wonder what Katsuya did to rattle him." A sadistically cheerful voice laughed in glee.

Yami smirked at Sophia's word. "Quite."

"So you're that other Yugi dude, right? The dead pharaoh guy?"

Yami blinked. She was certainly blunt but that seem to be the general impression of Americans, a tactless people. Though he didn't like others to know of his existence, he was not paranoid about preserving the "secret." Most people would be inclinded to find the notion beyond absurd anyway. "How do you know?"

She giggled. "You can learn a lot when you get Katsuya drunk. Poor boy can't drink either."

"That's an interesting fact."

"So what do you say, Mister Alter Ego? Wanna help me in my plans to get Katsuya and Kaiba together?"

A grin, reminiscent of his old dueling days, crept slowly across his lips. "Sounds like fun."

It looked like he was about to have the most fun in the entirety of his afterlife. As much as Yami rather Kaiba and Jounouchi "get together" and stop dancing around each other, he knew it would not be without its mishaps. But perhaps that would be the most amusing aspect of this ordeal.

"So where do we start?"

...

Mokuba scowled at the cup of punch Rebecca shoved into his hand.

"Oh, stop pouting like that. As cute as that is, it might get stuck that way." Rebecca teased. She latched onto his arm and smiled.

"I know Jounouchi could be a real bastard sometimes when he was younger, but so was Nii-sama. You would think that after ten years, they could at least be civil with each other," he huffed. "Especially since Shizuka-san is like a sister to Nii-sama."

Rebecca shook her head sadly. "There's a lot of history between Jounouchi and your brother. None of it can be as easily put behind as you'd like. Seto-san must have been really hurt by Jounouchi-baka's rejection. I don't think your brother has ever even admitted his feelings to anyone before Jounouchi."

"What do you mean…Nii-sama was rejected by Jounouchi for what?"

Rebecca looked at him very carefully. "Surely you know about…" she trailed off.

He grabbed her wrist. "What? Tell me. Tell me it's not true!"

She looked away from him. "I'm sorry, I thought you knew Seto-san was in love with Jounouchi."

...

"You and Jounouchi!"

Kaiba fought the urge to look up and meet his little brother's eyes. No, Mokuba wasn't so little anymore. The other **man** had simply barged into his study without as much as a knock on the door.

"Answer me, Nii-san!"

Kaiba could make out the form of Rebecca creeping into the room. Her expression was apologetic, guilty even, but he couldn't care less. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Am I required to report everything to you now, Mokuba?"

"No, but-"

"Leave. I still have a lot of work to be done tonight."

"You hate him, Nii-san. The pathetic dog. The mediocre duelist. He's beneath you. How could this be possible?"

"Get out," Kaiba all but growled. He did not need to be interrogated by his younger brother of all people. "There's nothing between Jounouchi and me."

Silence…

"You called him by his name… You **never** call him by his name!"

Kaiba cursed softly under his breath. "It is not your concern."

"Like hell it is!" Mokuba spat. "How could youhave…have…a **thing** for Jounouchi of all people. How could you be…"

"What? Gay? Homosexual? Queer?"

Mokuba winced.

"You don't seem to have a problem with Ishtar and Bakura."

"But that's Bakura and Malik," Mokuba protested. "They could never be called normal under any circumstance."

"And I suppose I was ever normal? I never was. Then again, I suppose that you would believe that to be the cause of my," Kaiba paused for a second to think. "Affliction."

Mokuba's expression hardened. "You sicken me." He turned on his heels and slammed the door behind him on his way out.

"I'm sorry. I really thought he knew already," Rebecca would not lift her gaze up from the carpet. "After everything…"

Kaiba leaned back in is seat and squeezed his eyes shit. The evening had only gotten progressively worse. He hadn't needed to see Jounouchi and Kujaku in lip-lock on his balcony. "Don't, Rebecca. He's a grown man now. He has made his choice and his opinions quite clear."

"He doesn't hate you," the woman insisted. "He's just mad about not knowing, about being the last to know."

He hated the tone of desperation in her voice.

"Stop it, Rebecca. You don't have to make excuses for him. It doesn't matter how he feels about me now." He knew he was lying by saying that. He really did care. He really was hurt by his little brother's words. Mokuba's approval had always meant the world to him.

...

Jounouchi wasn't sure what had happened between Kaiba and Mokuba. Mokuba had suddenly come storming into the room with the doors slamming loudly in his footfall. All the guests at the party had stopped to look at the young man with questioning and concerned gazes. Mokuba only graced Jounouchi with a patented "Kaiba death glare" before storming out of the room again. Kaiba never even left his study for the entire duration of the party.

As the attendants of the party left the Kaiba mansion together, they gathered on the steps of the Kaiba Mansion. All of them were just the slightest bit tipsier than when the party started, except for Anzu and Yugi. Anzu was pregnant and Yugi wasn't going to put either his wife or his child in danger by driving with alcohol in his system.

Jounouchi watched with a light heart as Yugi helped Anzu into the passenger's seat of the car. He promised to visit both his mother and his sister sometime soon. He had not felt this much at peace for such a long time.

As Bakura got ready to leave as well, the white-haired man pressed a card into Jounouchi's hand. Jounouchi turned it over. It was Bakura's business card- Bakura Ryou, Clinical Psychologist. He looked at the other man with a questioning expression.

"You should come by sometime," Bakura brushed a strand of hair out of his amber eyes. "I'll listen to whatever you want to say. I won't tell the others anything- doctor-patient confidentiality."

Jounouchi felt his own hackles rising. "I'm not crazy, Bakura."

Bakura laid a hand on Jounouchi's shoulder. It was a surprisingly strong grip. "I didn't mean it that way. You ran for a reason, Jounouchi-kun. Until you confront that reason and your demons, you're going to keep running. I owe it to you as a friend and Yugi-tachi to help you stop running."

Jounouchi tore himself out of Bakura's grip and looked away. "I don't know what the fuck you're talking about."

A ghost of a small smile graced Bakura's lip. That sounded a bit more like the old Jounouchi. "You're doing it again. You're running. You're going to have to stop at one point."

Jounouchi would not say anymore.

"Just keep it, Jounouchi-kun. I hope you'll at least think about my words."

Bakura still received no reaction from Jounouchi. The white-haired man stepped forward and hugged Jounouchi. He tensed in Bakura's embrace.

"It's alright, you know?" Bakura whispered in his eyes. "It's okay to be gay or homosexual or whatever you want to call it. No one's going to hate you for it."

Jounouchi pushed Bakura away more roughly than he intended just as Sophia pulled up with the car. "Mind your own damn business, Bakura. Even if I was, which I'm not, I could never let it out. I'd be letting down Sophie and Jessica." Jounouchi turned to make his way to the waiting car.

Bakura sighed. "We're glad to have to back," he called after the blonde. "We won't care, Jounouchi-kun. We'll support you in whatever you want to pursue. It's more important to remain true to yourself."

...

Jounouchi was sure. He knew there was no worse evil in the world than this. No ingenious and diabolical plan of either of Bakura's or Malik's other insane personas could possibly compare to this horror.

Fangirls…

He cursed the first girl that jumped a celebrity and started this tradition of harassment. He had seen lots of celebrities mobbed, especially in Hong Kong when he did stunts for movies but he had never imagined that he would amass such a large following of adolescent hormones.

He had never really considered himself to be handsome, at least not by any means of the classical definition. Certainly not like any of the bishonen that his female peers had drooled over in his teenage years. No, that kind of…praise…was reserved for someone like…Kaiba… He guessed he was attractive in the rugged semi-bad-boy way. This was ridiculous.

Sophia's plan had worked. Of course, Sophia's plan would work. They always did. It was her methods that Jounouchi found most disconcerting- and dangerous to his health. His popularity in Japan had skyrocketed in a matter of weeks. His movie wasn't even out yet. His name, his face, his very being was invariably associated with Shizuka's work.

"Joey!"

"Jou-kun!"

He winced. By God, he was already beginning to acquire a nickname.

More girlish squeals of excitement echoed through the hotel lobby. A myriad of hands shoved papers, napkins, those damn postcards, and anything else that could be written on in his face. The other patrons of the hotel watched the gathering with disdain.

He thanked God for the hotel staff. They were the only obstacle standing between him and the pillaging hands of raving fans. Sophia looked extremely harassed, which was completely ridiculous in Jounouchi's opinion. He was the one being hunted here. She did look ready to kill something or someone. That was never a good sign, as he learned very quickly early in their acquaintance with each other.

He reluctantly took a few of the objects offered to him and signed them. After all, good PR was always essential.

"Joey-san!"

The crowd of fangirls parted suddenly for a man in his mid 30's and dressed in a business suit. To say he was somewhat out of place would be a grand understatement. He looked nervous- hesitant before he approached Jounouchi. He extended a book forward. "Please sign this."

Jounouchi took the book and began to pen his signature across the blank space right over the author's name. "So…is this for your wife or daughter?"

A small but genuine smile fluttered across the other man's lips. "Actually, it's for my girlfriend."

Jounouchi found himself grinning as well as he signed off the last curve of his signature. There was something so very sweet about the man's actions. He had, in a way, swallowed his pride to ask for the autograph of a teenage idol. "Here," he handed the book back to the other man. "I wish you the best of luck."

Sophia pulled him back, away from the mob. "Come, Katsuya. We have to leave now."

He nodded and apologized to his fans. Fans… What an odd thought. He really had fans now. They groaned and protested against his leaving. He took a step backwards and they followed in kind. He turned and ran, with Sophia hot on his trail and leaving the hotel staff to deal with the mob. He couldn't resist the urge to look back.

Under the archway that served as the entrance to the hotel's five star restaurant, the businessman who had just asked for his autograph stood across from a girl- no, a young woman in her mid-twenties. She shifted somewhat uncertainly under the arch, glancing back as if to check on their dining table. Shaking her head, she launched herself at him and they nearly tumbled to the ground in a mutual embrace.

"There's such a huge age gap between them." Jounouchi muttered to himself.

"Not really," Sophia surprised him. He didn't even think she could hear him over the roar of the fangirls. "Probably a ten years difference at most. Besides, just as love knows no gender, love knows no age too." She gave him a meaningful glance.

Jounouchi thought about her words for a second. She was right. If Bakura and Malik could find something with each other... He couldn't help but smile at the thought of the couple now. He turned to Sophia, still making a mad dash for the car waiting out front. "Tell the hotel staff to put that couple's lunch on my tab."

Sophia's grin widened in approval as she fished out her cell phone to make the call while they sprinted down the front steps of the hotel.

...

Jounouchi stood still at the door to the apartment. His hand was poised to knock but the fist refused to fall against the door. Sophia had run off to some meeting with the head of some TV station. Jounouchi was glad that his presence was not required for once. He stood there for another few seconds without moving. Just as his fist began to descend upon the wood, the door flew open.

"Shizuka-chan!"

Jounouchi froze and Honda stared at him in anticipation. Jounouchi had never seen such a wild and desperate expression in his friend's eyes before. Not in all the many years he had known Honda. The man's clothing was a mess and his hair was tousled. It wasn't even in his usual style.

"Jounouchi…" Honda attempted to smile but failed. "How-"

Jounouchi cut him off. "I asked Yugi. I was sure he still had the game shop so I called him."

"Oh," Honda stepped back and out of the hallway. "Come in."

Jounouchi studied the room he had just stepped into. The living room was like a studio. Canvas, both filled and empty, littered the room. An easel was set up on the balcony. To one side of the room, a drawing table was set up next to the computer desk. Jounouchi could see the hints of a beginning of a manga.

"So this is where you live," Jounouchi said to no one in particular. "It's more classier than I would have imagined for you."

"You're just the comedian, aren't you?"

He made his way over to the balcony. The apartment had a nice view of the ocean not far off. "Shizuka must come here to paint a lot. The view's great."

Jounouchi heard a slight choking noise. He became alarmed and twirled around to meet Honda's desperate gaze. Upon closer examination, his best friend really did look like crap. There were bags under Honda's eyes and dark rings around them. It looked like the man hadn't slept in days now.

"You okay, Honda?"

Honda ran a hand through his hair and squeezed his eyes shut. "I'll live."

"What are you hiding from me?" Jounouchi advanced on Honda. He didn't like secrets.

Honda looked sadly out the window. "Shizuka-chan loved the view. She picked this place especially because of it."

Jounouchi froze. He allowed the words to sink in. Shizuka, his baby sister, picked this apartment for Honda. He looked around the room again. No,she hadpicked this apartment for Honda and herself. Without a second thought, he crossed the room in just five strides and grabbed the collar of Honda's shirt.

Wait, a button-up shirt? Since when did Honda dress so cleanly? He shook his head to clear it and growled. "How dare you put the moves on my sister like that!"

Honda knocked his hand away. "You're the one who left her behind. What say do you have in who she dates or lives with? You left her."

"I don't care," Jounouchi gritted his teeth. It took all his willpower not to hit Honda right there. Honda's words hurt. Jounouchi hadn't meant to abandon anyone. "You have no right-"

"Shut up," Honda's eyes flashed in a way that reminded Jounouchi of their old fighting days. "You left us all behind without a word. Now you just come waltzing back into our lives like nothing has happened and just expect us to welcome you with open arms?"

"I had to leave!" Jounouchi clenched his fist. "You don't understand. You can't possibly understand."

"Then help me to try and understand."

Jounouchi shook his head. "Oh no, you're trying to steer me off course. This is about Shizuka-"

"Don't worry," Honda dug into the pocket of his trousers- neat work pants- and threw something onto the coffee table. It hit the surface with a slight ping before falling to the carpet without another sound. "Shizuka and I are over with."

Jounouchi bent down to pick up the object Honda had thrown. It was a beautiful gold engagement ring with little diamonds set in the band. An engagement ring. He would have missed his baby sister's marriage to his best friend if he had never returned. There was only one question on Jounouchi's mind now. "Why?"

Honda glared at him with the barest hint of loathing. "**You** came back." That was all he had to say and for that one moment, Jounouchi really could believe that Honda hated him.

The burden of guilt on his shoulder was the heaviest he had ever had to carry in his life.

He should have never come back.


	6. Track 5- Japan

_Kaiba has always been a bit of a bastard. Scratch that, he's always been a full-blown bastard. It's the one of those things you never expect to change though. And he still is one- a bastard that is. Yet at the same time, you couldn't help but admire him in some way. At least, I admired him… _

_I really shouldn't admire him in any way. Care about him in any way. Worry about him in any way. But I did. That was the only reason- explanation- for my wandering around this creepy deserted mansion on my own. I should have stayed with Yugi and the others, instead of going after Kaiba-yaro… _

_I tightened my fingers around the picture frame. I didn't really understand the meaning of the photo of that freak, Noa, standing next to someone I vaguely remember to be Kaiba Gozaburo. My guts were what told me it was important though. _

_I slammed another door shut after finding another furnished but empty room. This was becoming annoying fast. There were absolutely no signs of life in this huge-ass mansion. Sighing, I turned to the next door down the hallway and twisted the knob. _

_The door fell open to reveal a tense scene. Noa and Mokuba was seated on the velvet red couch, the green-haired freak smiling at Kaiba in that creepy manner. To Jounouchi's left was an equally strange scene of Noa standing before the desk of the man from the photo- except the man looked older now. _

_"I am Kaiba Gozaburo's only son, Kaiba Noa." _

_"Kaiba, what the hell is going on?" _

_Kaiba turned, the tail of his trench coat flying through the air. "Jounouchi," his eyes widened just the slightest bit in surprise. _

_An image suddenly appeared in the air in front of the red couch. It showed Otogi at the wheel of the truck they had found and speeding down the bridge with some of those Big 5 morons on their trail. _

_"Shit," I cursed. "Yugi! Shizuka!" _

_Noa took one look at the image playing before them and scowled, "This is becoming a nuisance," he stood and faced us again. "I'm afraid we'll have to finish this some other time, Seto." _

_"Wait, Noa!" Kaiba called in rage after the fading images of Noa and Mokuba. _

_Then it was only the two of us standing in a void of black. It was strange because even though there was no light, we could see each other perfectly fine. There was no floor beneath us, nothing solid, and yet we were still standing upright. _

_Another door appeared suddenly to our right. Torn between Kaiba and my friends, I shuffled my feet back and forth for a few seconds. When Kaiba made no move at the door and just glared darkly at it, I knew I was going to have to move on with or without him. _

_"Damn it all," I swore again and ran for the door. I threw open the door to reveal a dry desert land with one wide road cutting down the middle of it. "I'm so tired of this shit." _

_Kaiba brushed past me and stepped through the door. The bastard didn't even bother to wait as he started down the long stretch of road. _

_"Oi, Kaiba! Wait up!" _

_As we made our way over the first hill, I spotted Yugi and the others in the distance. Ignoring Kaiba, I broke into a run and waved my arm frantically to catch their attention. Only when the sun reflected off the glass of the frame did I finally remember I was still holding the strange photo. _

_"Jounouchi-kun!" Yugi's eyes lit up as he saw us approaching. "Kaiba-kun." _

_I grabbed Yugi and pulled him into a friendly headlock, not oblivious to Kaiba's tensing at what I did. "Where are those Big 5 creeps? Took care of them, didn't you?" _

_"Noa came and took them away." Otogi said as he jumped down from the overturned truck. The boy then turned to help Shizuka down and Honda the robotic monkey still clung to her. If he tried anything else perverted on my little sister… _

_Letting go of Yugi, I turned to Kaiba and tossed him the picture frame. "Here, I found it in that weird mansion." _

_Kaiba furrowed his eyebrows in way that others would have described as cute, "This is impossible. Noa can't be Gozaburo's son." _

_"I don't understand, Kaiba-kun." Yugi stepped toward Kaiba. _

_When Kaiba refused to answer, I filled in the blanks for him. "That nut Noa says he's Kaiba's brother." _

_Yugi's eyes widened like saucers. "You have another brother besides Mokuba-kun?" _

_"Mokuba is my only brother," he snarled viciously and shot me an angry glare. "Noa claims to be the legitimate son of Kaiba Gozaburo, but he has to be lying." _

_"Why are you so sure?" I held my head just a little higher as I asked him. _

_He shoved the frame back into my hands, drawing his hands back as quickly as possible like he had been burned. "Just look at the picture, mutt. Gozaburo is younger in this photo than in the scene Noa just showed us, which was right before I was adopted six years ago." _

_I studied the photo intensely for a few seconds. I wasn't really sure what I was looking for. Yeah, Gozaburo did look younger in this photo than he did in that hologram. So maybe Noa was born before Kaiba was adopted. But then…Noa hasn't changed… _

_"Noa hasn't grown any older…" _

_"Precisely." _

_"But why did Noa take Mokuba-kun then?" Anzu asked. _

_"Noa seems to hold a lot of hatred towards Kaiba-kun so he must have done it to make Kaiba-kun suffer." Yugi answered. _

_Kaiba turned away in disgust and started to walk away. _

_Anzu weaved around the group and placed herself firmly in Kaiba's way. She never fails to amaze me with her show of spine. "Where are you going? If you're going to rescue Mokuba, let's go together." _

_"Get out of my way," Kaiba growled. "This is my business. It has nothing to do with you so get out of the way." _

_I'm not sure why Kaiba's words stung so much then. Did he really expect us to just turn our backs on him and leave him like that? _

_"Let him go," I said bitterly. "The almighty Kaiba Seto doesn't need our help." _

_I watched as his shoulders tensed, but he said nothing in return. The silence was like another slap to my face. Why did I bother to care about the stupid jerk? Anzu just shook her head and refused to get out of Kaiba's way, even after he had brushed her off and knocked his duel disk against her chest. _

_"We're all stuck in this together," she fought on valiantly. "Besides, Mokuba is our friend too." _

_Kaiba finally looked away from Anzu, his deep blue eyes sliding over all of us and maybe lingering the longest on me. His eyes suddenly turned upwards and he smirked. Raising one hand to point at some spot over my shoulder, he declared, "Perhaps you should worry about that friend first." _

_"Honda!" Otogi shouted. _

_I turned slowly, unwilling to tear my eyes off Kaiba that easily. There Honda stood on top of a plateau with an ugly sneer on his face. No, that wasn't Honda. My best friend was trapped in the body of a robotic monkey right now. It was just an imposter that wore Honda's body and face. _

_"No," I muttered. "That's not Honda." _

_And somewhere to my right a "give me back my body, kukkiii!" sounded. _

_The sound of boots crunching against gravel indicated that Kaiba was moving again. I looked briefly over my shoulder and found Kaiba doing the exact same thing. He held my gaze without hesitation. It was a…challenge of some sort? Was he trying to force a choice on me again? Did he really want me to choose between him and Honda? _

_I tore my eyes away and turned to face the Honda imposter instead. I had made my choice._

...

Jounouchi tugged the lid of the baseball cap down. He lowered his head and stared at the sidewalk. He had forgotten how clean sidewalks could be after living in America for so long.

He had left Honda's apartment immediately after the awkward outburst. He almost thought his friend was tempted to give some bullshit apology but Honda wouldn't even do that. It had become quickly obvious that Honda didn't want to talk to him at the moment. Jounouchi never stayed where he wasn't welcomed.

He knew that Honda really cared for his little sister. He had known for years and since finding out that Shizuka was engaged, he was glad to find it was to Honda and not to some stranger he didn't know. At the same time, Honda was like a stranger to him now. It had been almost ten- eleven years since he had even last spoken to his best friend. If anything, it seemed as if Honda's relationship with his little sister had been a good influence.

He stepped around a gaggle of teenage girls converged in front of some store window. He was grateful that no one had recognized him so far. If that morning at the hotel was any indication, he would be easily recognized in public.

Damn Sophie.

He fingered the cell phone in his coat pocket and wondered if he should call Sophia. No, she was probably busy with work and the last thing he wanted to do was disturb her. She would probably make him do yet another interview- or worse, a guest appearance on some game show. He shuddered at the thought.

His fingertips collided with the sharp thin edge of what felt like a card. He fished it out from the pocket. It was the business card Bakura had slipped him the night before. The address wasn't so far from where he was at the moment. It was either go see Bakura or his mother. He wasn't sure he could face his little sister right now, since learning he was the cause of her breakup.

He cringed. No, he was most definitely not ready to see his mother or sister again just yet. Bakura it was. He shoved his hands deep into his pocket and vanished in the anonymity afforded by Domino's afternoon crowd.

...

Sophia tapped her fingers against the wooden surface of the table. She didn't like lying to Jounouchi, but it was for his own good. He had enough to worry about with his friends and family.

She picked up one of the notes. There was no way to pinpoint their origin. They began receiving these death threats almost everyday since the week they arrived in Japan. After the last few weeks, a sizable amount had piled up. They were all generally along the same line. The characters were cut from newspapers and magazines. There was never any sort of signature or other identifying sign.

It wasn't unusual to receive death threats in the entertainment business. Sophia had been in the business for a good many years now. There was always one less than mentally stable individual that made some unfortunate celebrity the object of his or her obsession. Rarely did the situation get out of hand like the ones that make it into the media. She usually didn't worry about things like this, even if this was the first time this had happened with Jounouchi.

These threats almost seemed more personal though. She crumbled up the note in her hand. She wasn't going to tell the police. That would just create a scandal because these things always found a way of leaking out to the media. Jounouchi did not need that. Not right now.

Sophia dropped her head into her propped up hands. This would be so much easier if only she wasn't so emotionally invested in the blonde. He was just supposed to be her client- her employer, but she couldn't detach herself from Jounouchi in that manner. She had known since she first came across Jounouchi in Tokyo all those years that she would never work for another in this business again.

She groaned and reached for the ashtray. Her hands shook slightly as she dug through her purse for her carton of cigarettes and zippo lighter. The shaking subsided as she inhaled a few breaths of smoke. She remembered promising Jounouchi to quit some months ago, but it was hard. She had this monkey on her back since she was fourteen. She had been able to break a lot of other addictions and vices over the years but smoking had been the enduring one in her life.

She blew out another puff of smoke and looked at the notes spread out in front of her. Jamming the cigarette back between her lips, she dumped the one she had crumbled into the ashtray and set it on fire with her lighter. She proceeded to do the same with every note and by the time she was finished, so was her cigarette.

She drew another one from the carton and lit it. Considering the ashes in the tray and smeared over the table from her cigarettes and the death threats, she wasn't sure how to handle this situation. Jounouchi must never see these notes. She shuddered as she inhaled another lungful of toxins.

She would protect her own no matter what.

Sophia grabbed her phone and took a deep breath of clean air this time. She sighed and punched in a number she never thought she would need again. The other end of the line rang three times before someone picked up. "Isaac?"

"Speaking," the man on the other end of the line replied in Cantonese. "Who am I speaking to?"

"It's Sophia Chang." Her mother tongue sounded strange after not speaking it for so long.

Isaac chuckled. "Sophia, I thought we would never hear from you again after you left Hong Kong with your boy toy."

"Shut it," she growled and took another drag from her cigarette. "Don't say shit like that. I need to talk to your boss. I'm in need of a favor, and I'm willing to pay top money."

She could almost see the smirk on his lips as he spoke. "What sort of goods can I procure for you?"

"I'm in Japan right now, and I'm sure your contacts **will** get it to me within the next few days."

"With the right price. The Japanese custom officers are cracking down on certain imports from this side of the sea. Not to mention, our Japanese brethren haven't been as receptive to us as of the late. The price may be heftier than you imagined."

"Of course," Sophia couldn't fight the feral grin that crept across her lips. "I haven't been out of the circle for that long. Money is no object here."

"I'm glad to hear that. We miss your **business** wits, Sophia. Are you sure we can't convince you to come back?"

She gritted her teeth together before she realized she was ruining her cigarette that way. "I'm sure, Isaac. I wouldn't even be calling you if Katsuya wasn't in trouble."

Sophia supposed there were other ways to handle these types of situations, but this was the only way she knew. She shook her head. She may hurt Jounouchi with this but better him hurt than dead. She refused to consider the latter option. That was out of the question, equation, and picture. She stubbed out the cigarette in the ashtray.

Old habits died hard.

...

The office was deadly quiet when Jounouchi entered it. It was a small office- Jounouchi had expected something bigger- just outside of Domino's business district. All he could hear was the sound of typing from the receptionist hidden behind the computer sitting on the front desk. He didn't take off his baseball cap and looked around the waiting room. He was surprised that there were no other patients waiting. He approached the desk, and the receptionist paused.

"Do you have an appointment?" She asked.

"No," Jounouchi shook his head. "I'm just a friend of Bakura's stopping by. Is he busy right now?"

"Bakura-sensei's seeing a patient right now," the receptionist glanced at the appointment book by her elbow. "You can sit and wait for him to finish. They should be about finished with today's session. Bakura-sensei should be free afterward."

"Uh…thanks." Jounouchi nodded awkwardly as he noted she was looking at his baseball cap with disdain. He moved to the sofa opposite of the receptionist and sat. He could hear the ticking of the clock on the wall to the side as the minutes passed. He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination or if it was actually that loud.

A few times, he was startled by an outburst behind the door to the left of the receptionist's desk. They died out as suddenly as they began. Jounouchi began to wonder what sort of patient Bakura was dealing with at the moment.

After fifteen minutes- though it seemed more like an eternity to Jounouchi- the door to Bakura's office finally swung open. A perpetually nervous looking man stepped out of the office. Bakura followed quickly behind and seemed to be offering some sort of reassurance. The patient nodded but glanced anxiously around the sitting room. He froze when he spotted Jounouchi sitting on the couch. The man stuttered something and rushed out the office door.

Bakura leaned warily against the doorframe and sighed. The white-haired man looked up and smiled when he saw Jounouchi in the waiting room. "Jounouchi-kun, how nice of you to visit me! I thought you'd be busy with interviews and all that."

Jounouchi made his way across the room in a few long strides. He had caught the speculative look Bakura's receptionist was giving him. He hastily pushed Bakura into his office and shut the door behind them.

"Do you mind?" Jounouchi hissed. "The last thing I need is for your receptionist to call her friends, and the media will be all over me."

Bakura raised an eyebrow that almost vanished into his white hairline. "Is that what the baseball cap is for? It's not a very good disguise. You should have worn a pair of sunglasses too."

Jounouchi yanked off the baseball cap and glared at Bakura. "I didn't come here to talk about the shortcomings of my disguise incognito."

Bakura gestured to the lounge chair and said, "Have a seat, Jounouchi-kun."

Jounouchi snorted and folded his arms across his chest. "I'm not one of your patients, Bakura."

Bakura tapped a finger against his chin and studied him with a thoughtful expression. "Your body language tells me that you're trying to close yourself off. It's like you're trying to build a wall around yourself."

Jounouchi glared harder at the man.

Bakura sighed. "I'm not going to psychoanalyze you, but I would rather you relax. This won't make for a very pleasant experience otherwise."

"You've changed." Jounouchi pointed out very bluntly.

"Really?" the white-haired man then smiled sadly, as if with a hint of loss. "It's been almost eleven years, Jounouchi-kun. You've changed too. You're calmer and more cautious."

Jounouchi threw his baseball cap on the sofa sitting all the way against the other wall and sat down on that instead. "Have to be. One wrong move and the tabloids will be all over you. Sophie can only divert so much attention away with her insanity."

Bakura moved over to him and sat down next to him, still leaving a few good inches of space between them. Jounouchi was grateful for that and Bakura felt more like an equal like this.

"So how long has Malik been back?" Jounouchi asked languidly.

There. That was a safe topic to begin with.

"He moved to Domino about six years ago."

"What's he doing these days?"

"He's works for Kaiba-kun!"

Jounouchi's jaw dropped. "Malik Ishtar is working for Kaiba Seto. You got to be kidding me."

Bakura chuckled. "It's a pretty strange thought, isn't it?"

"What could Malik possibly be doing for Kaiba? Is he running around doing hits for the bastard or something?"

"Malik is head of public relations actually."

Jounouchi was stunned yet again. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Malik's actually quite good at his job. He's refreshing, if nothing else. He doesn't take any sort of nonsense from reporters." Bakura was practically beaming with pride for his boyfriend.

"Well, he can't be worse than Sophie," Jounouchi muttered. "Glad to see he's settled down though. I guess I should have seen it. Kaiba's official apology to me stunk of Malik humor."

"It's been eleven years, Jounouchi-kun. We can't remain teenagers forever."

There it was again- advice given so readily and without hesitation. Jounouchi tried to recall a time when Bakura had been this confident but couldn't. The slight edge of blackness and despair that always seemed to taint Bakura in his teenage years was completely gone. Even when Bakura's dark personality was finally defeated, Bakura had not changed in any significant way. This was a development of the time he had been gone from Japan.

Lots of things had changed…

He threw his head back and it connected painfully with the wall behind the sofa. He did his best to ignore the throbbing pain now battling his pre-existing headache to cause the most pain.

"I think I messed up big time, Bakura," he muttered very quietly. "I don't think I should have come back."

"Why do you say that?"

"I just stopped by Honda's place, Honda's and Shizuka's place," he quickly corrected himself.

Bakura was smiling that sad but calm smile of his again. "They've been separated for almost a month now."

"He was completely fine last night. He gave absolutely no indication." Jounouchi threw an arm over his eyes. "He was still my best friend last night."

"And what about today? What makes him no longer your best friend today?"

Jounouchi knew Bakura was prodding now, but he was too drained to resist. "He hates me, Bakura. I broke him and Shizuka up. It's all my fault, because I left in the first place, because I came back now. God, I suck at this."

"That is where you're completely wrong."

Jounouchi turned his head and stared at the white-haired man in complete disbelief. "You can't mean that."

"I do. These are issues Honda-kun and Shizuka-chan need to work through together. If they cannot get over this hurdle, it is only because of themselves. No one can dictate the course of their relationship but them. Honda-kun kept a big secret from Shizuka-chan and no matter how good his intentions were, he still hurt her greatly. He needs to fix this on his own."

"So you're saying it's not my fault?" he was blinking rapidly, waiting for the words to sink in.

"No, it's not your fault."

After another long moment of silence, Jounouchi asked, "So what else have I missed?"

"I think it would do you good to find that out on your own," Bakura rose from his seat next to him and walked back toward his desk. "We should find some more time to see each other again though."

"Sure…"

...

Jounouchi left Bakura's office with a comparatively lighter heart than that which he left Honda's apartment with. It still didn't make the day any better or less abysmal though.

As soon as he stepped out of the building, his cellphone began ringing. His ringtone, the funeral march, told him it was Sophie calling even before he had a chance to flip open the phone and look at the name onscreen.

"Katsuya, I'm afraid there's been a change in the schedule. We had to move your interview for Domino Times' Lifestyle section up to today. So that means you need to get your ass down here as soon as possible."

Jounouchi glared at the sidewalk and wished for a can to kick. Unlike the streets of LA, the streets of Domino had always been as clean as the streets of Tokyo. "Don't I get more than an hour's warning before shi- something like this happens? Aren't there union regulations against this sort of abuse?"

"You're a freaking movie star, now get your ass down here before I have to go out and find you and you know that won't be fun."

"Alright, alright, where do I have to go?"

"We're going to do the interview back at the hotel. I've already called ahead and had the staff prepare for this. So just get there as soon as possible. You should probably call someone to pick you up."

The line went dead before Jounouchi could say anymore.

He sighed and slipped the phone back into his jacket pocket. Sophie could be described as many things, but she was also a strict taskmaster above all. Who would have guessed such a questionable woman was such a hard-worker? Fixing his cap and straightening his shoulders, he left the alcove where he went to receive the call.

It was late afternoon, but it still looked like mid-day because of the summer season. The crowd thickened since the early-shift salarymen were beginning to get off. That was perfectly fine with Jounouchi. It just meant there were more people to hide behind until he got back to the hotel. He contemplated calling someone to pick him up, but he wasn't eager to do this interview. Today was supposed to be his free day.

It was at that moment that something slammed roughly into his side. He gritted his teeth and dug his shoes into the pavement to keep from falling over. Jounouchi twirled around and glared after the hunched figure now disappearing around the corner. He was tempted- sorely tempted to chase after the asshole, but to do that would be to call attention to himself.

That would not be a smart thing to do.

Gritting his teeth until his jaws hurt, Jounouchi once again thought about how this was not his day.

...

Sophia grabbed Jounouchi as soon as he walked into his hotel room. She proceeded to strip him out his jacket and shirt. Before Jounouchi could even begin to protest, she shoved a bundle of clothing into his arms and pushed him toward the bathroom, ordering him to change right away.

"You look like a hooligan. I won't have you meeting the reporter like that. Now!"

Jounouchi shoulder's slumped under the weight of her command and closed the bathroom door behind himself.

"Really," she muttered to herself. "You would think he'd learn by now after so many years."

She reached into one of his jacket pockets and emptied them. She set the cellphone, Bakura's business card, and a handful of yen coins onto the writing desk. Digging into the other pocket, she only found a wrinkled piece of paper. She was about to set the paper on the table too when one corner of the unevenly folded paper caught her attention.

Her hands shook as she unfolded it.

_Soon, Katsuya._

It wasn't a death threat, but Sophia was sure that it was from the same sender. She fumbled for her purse. Jounouchi couldn't see this. The tremors only increased as she closed her fingers around her lighter. Jounouchi must never know about this.

The paper caught the fire from her lighter in the corner and curled around the paper like fingers. Jounouchi exited the bathroom just as she was about to turn and dump the lit paper into the trash can.

"Shit!" Jounouchi exclaimed and crossed the room in a few long strides. He grabbed the lit paper from her hand and dumped it into the trash can. He yelped again when the flames licked against the index and thumb finger that held the burning paper. Sophia grabbed the pitcher of water off the bureau to her right and dumped the content in the bin.

The distinct scent of something burning still hung heavy in the air.

"What the fuck was that!" Jounouchi brought the two burned fingers to his mouth.

She turned away and grabbed her purse off the bureau after setting down the empty pitcher. "I'll send someone to look at that and someone to do your hair. Come down to the restaurant as soon as you're done. We can't keep the reporter waiting for too long."

"Goddammit, Sophie!"

She ignored him and walked out of the suite, fumbling through her purse for her rapidly declining supply of cigarettes.

"I need a smoke."

...

"Something's on your mind."

Kaiba simply grunted and refused to acknowledge Malik's statement. He stared resolutely at the floor numbers as they flew by instead. He didn't know if he should be grateful or not for not being surrounded by his usual entourage. While he found their mindless chattering both tedious and uninspired, Malik wouldn't dare ask such personal questions if they were around. And Malik always managed to have a personal question or comment when he managed to solicit Kaiba by himself.

He wondered how long Malik would be able to keep that loud mouth of his shut.

"Come on, you're being broodier than usual."

Just as he suspected, not very long at all.

"It's none of your business."

"It's my business if it's going to affect how you appear before the public."

"I wasn't aware I had to attend any press conferences soon."

"You will if this deal goes through. And no, this isn't something you can just shove on me like usually." Malik straightened his tie before crossing his arms over his chest. "I haven't seen Mokuba at all today. Where could he be?"

Kaiba's hands flexed at the mention of his younger brother. He had a feeling that Mokuba would not be coming around again anytime soon.

Malik didn't seem to notice and just kept talking. "Ryou called not long ago. Seems like the pup stopped by his office."

Kaiba felt the beginnings of a migraine. "Your point?" he had a feeling this was going to be one of those moments where he was going to want to kill Malik and throw the body somewhere so remote even scavengers wouldn't be able find it.

"Oh, none at all," Malik stated innocently- too innocently. "I was just wondering if Jounouchi would stop by to visit here too."

Who would have thought Kaiba would one day long for the "good-old-days" where Malik was just another psychologically unstable duelist obsessed with Yugi (or Yami or whatever the hell the damn ghost thing wanted to call himself) and bent on sabotaging Kaiba's company, or at least his tournaments. Those would have been issues that Kaiba knew he could handle readily.

"This is private property, Malik. Non-employees just can't walk in and out as they please." Kaiba grumbled.

"But it's Jounouchi." Malik spoke as if that would explain it all.

Kaiba made a noncommittal sound and Malik just stared harder at him.

"He's only going to be here for a few more weeks before he goes back to America. You don't have that much time left. If you're going to make a move, make it soon."

Kaiba unwillingly thought back to the previous night where he caught Jounouchi and Mai kissing on his balcony. His fists curled and his muscles strained to hit something at the mere thought. It was followed by the even more unwelcome imagery that flashed before his mind's eyes. Taking a deep breath, he shoved all the unnecessary emotions to the back of his mind.

Hopefully, he wouldn't have to deal with them at all.

"I think you have too much time on your hand, Ishtar. Should I be assigning more to your department?"

"You're going to be **really** stubborn about this, aren't you?"

He refused to reply and got off the elevator instead.

...

Jounouchi felt strange having to bow so much, and since he came back to Japan, he had done a lot of bowing. He was glad it was one of things that Americans didn't usually do. Really, what was wrong with a good, firm handshake?

It had taken less than ten minutes to get Jounouchi sorted out. Sophia had even cowed the hairdresser and make-up artist to work with more speed and efficiency than usual. He was led to meet the reporter at the back of the restaurant downstairs. Their area of the restaurant had been closed off, but there were still curious patrons and waiters that were trying to see what was going on.

"I can't thank you enough for doing this interview, Joey-san?" she, the reporter, grabbed his hand and shook it just after they had exchanged bows. "Or should I call you Jounouchi-san?"

"Whichever. I have nothing to hide." He pulled his hand away and sat down in the chair their waiter had pulled out for him. He absently shook the numbness away from his hand. She had squeezed his burned fingers just a bit too hard.

"Of course, I'm Yamato Kimiko of _Domino Times_," She gestured to the over-excited man to her left holding a camera. "And this is Kujaku Makoto, he'll be taking a few photos of our interview today. We've already cleared all of this with Chang-san."

At the sound of her name, Sophia joined the two of them already at the table. Jounouchi noticed her hands were trembling and she looked more worn than usual. Shaking his head, he turned to the overenthusiastic looking photographer instead. Great, he even had fanboys/men.

"Kujaku, huh? You wouldn't happen to be related to Kujaku Mai, would you?" Jounouchi asked.

The photographer's eyes widened and he stuttered for a few moments, "She's my cousin."

"Really? I didn't know Mai had a cousin," he mumbled.

Sophia cleared her throat and glared at him not-so-subtly out of the corner of her eyes.

The reporter, Kimiko, leaned forward across the table; her eyes alit with some strange light. "So you're acquainted with Kujaku Mai-san of Valentines Boutique?"

"I believe we should order instead of making our poor waiter wait like this." Sophia obviously didn't like where this interview was going.

He couldn't just not give any answer at all to the reporter. It would just look all the more suspicious. "She's an old friend from my dueling days. I didn't know she owned a boutique these days."

It only took each of them a minute to order altogether so Kimiko jumped right into the interview. "So Jounouchi-san, you must be glad to be home after all these years."

He told himself she didn't mean anything in specific by choosing to address him by his old name. It wasn't even his legal name anymore. He had changed it to Joey Katsuya at Sophia's insistence. "Yeah, it's great to be back all these years."

"How does your sister feel about this? And your mother? They must have been ecstatic to see you again." She was completely relaxed and he noticed she hadn't even begun to take any sort of notes on the pad of paper set in front of her. Without waiting for him to answer, she plodded ahead, "Have you always wanted to be a movie star, Jounouchi-san? Is that why you left in the first place? To pursue that dream? Records show you left not long after you graduated high school. You must have had your heart set on this."

"Enough," Sophia's hand fell against the table with the force of a sledgehammer. "I believe we discussed the limitations of this interview already. You are not to pry into Katsuya's past. You are here to talk about his current projects, Miss Yamato."

Kimiko raised a questioning eyebrow. "I remember, Chang-san, this is completely off the record. If you've noticed, I haven't taken any notes yet. I was just curious."

Sophia growled loudly in warning. Jounouchi had to bite down on his tongue to keep from commenting she was the one who sounded like a dog now.

"Well then," Kimiko pressed her pen against the pad. "Shall we start with the real interview then?"

The interview commenced without any further objections and they were only disrupted by the arrival of their food. Kimiko asked him questions about the movie and Makoto snapped photos every once in a while. There were times when the reporter would dance on the knife's edge of a personal question and Sophia would simply growl in warning. By the time Jounouchi got halfway through his entree, the ordeal was done. With seemingly no other choice, Sophia reluctantly invited Kimiko and Makoto to join them for dessert.

The entire affair came to an end around 8:20, just over an hour after it started. They all stood as the waiter moved to clear their table and exchanged polite bows once more. Before the reporter and her photographer left, Makoto shoved a piece of paper in his direction and asked him for an autograph.

Jounouchi just smiled- Sophia called it his charming, disarming smile- and signed his signature with a flourish. Makoto clasped his hand longer than necessary when Jounouchi extended the autograph back.

"I'm an absolute fan of yours, Joey-san." The man's eyes shone with absolute adoration. "I really look forward to see your career take off. I know this movie will do wonderful things for it. I know I'll be in for the first showing at the theater near my apartment for the first showing."

"Ugh, yeah. Thanks I guess. Say hi to Mai for me if you see her."

Jounouchi resisted the urge to wipe his hand against the tablecloth when the other man finally released his hand. It would have been too insulting. Unlike his younger days and after numerous incidents in the states, he had learned to hold back a little and swallow the unpleasant things that were begging to be said.

Sophia never did, nor did she care.

"Alright," she paused to take a drag from her cigarette. "You've had your fun, fanboy. Now get lost and let the grown-ups work."

Makoto glowered at her and opened his mouth to retort when Kimiko called for him.

"Let's go, Kujaku. You'll have plenty of opportunities to gawk later."

The photographer gave Sophia one last dark glare and scurried after the reporter.

"That was…" Jounouchi struggled to find the right words for the experience.

"She's a bitch," Sophia snarled without hesitation. Kimiko had walked barely five feet away from their table. Since she hadn't looked back, Jounouchi hoped she hadn't heard. Sophia leaned back against the table and jammed her cigarette between her lips.

If Jounouchi had just met her at that moment, he would have figured her the very picture of cool.

But after so many years of friendship, he knew better. "How many packs have you gone through today?"

She shrugged and flicked the loosely hanging ash at the end of her cigarette on to the carpet. One of the waiters glared not so kindly at her, and she returned it. "Don't know, lost count a while ago."

She'd promised him she'd quit.

"Something's wrong," Jounouchi muttered.

It wasn't a question.

Exhaling another puff of smoke, she sighed. "I guess. The problem is I don't really know. Just gotta expect the unexpected, I guess."


	7. Track 6- Life Of My Own

_I believe in the constants of life. There were just some things that are seemingly eternal. I would be in charge of Kaiba Corporations for as long as I lived (or until such time that Mokuba showed interest in running the company). Mokuba would always be my little brother. The rising sun never failed to wake me at the break of dawn. One of them was, and still is, the more-canine-than-human boy named Jounouchi Katsuya. Even before he started following around Yugi like some stray attention-starved puppy, Jounouchi had been a constant in my life._

_I met Jounouchi on my first day of public schooling. Gozaburo previously had me home-schooled, but with his death and my inheritance of the company, there was no longer any need for that. I didn't fancy public schooling much, but it was something necessary to appease the board of trustees. Besides, I could pass any of the classes in my sleep if I chose to._

_Jounouchi had run into me in the hallway while trying to escape the wrath of a teacher he had angered. He didn't try to apologize so I wasn't about to let him leave just yet. I had never met someone as disrespectful or as rude as Jounouchi Katsuya before._

_I'm Kaiba Seto, and no one gets away with treating me that way._

_I delayed him long enough for the teacher to catch up and Jounouchi got in twice the amount of trouble. I had those brainless teachers eating out of the palm of my hand from day one._

_Jounouchi absolutely hated it. He hated me._

_Needless to say, we didn't have very amiable first impressions of each other._

_But Jounouchi had always been there._

_And there was no way the blond duelist could have defeated Malik in a duel. While the blond had showed significant improvement through the course of my Battle City tournament and even made it into the top four, he was still nowhere near Malik's level. He certainly wasn't at my or Yugi's level either._

_Thus, I still couldn't acknowledge him as a worthy duelist._

_I, Yugi, and Malik each had something that automatically placed us above him- above everyone else in fact._

_The God Cards._

_But Jounouchi had done well against Malik- despite his inherent handicap. He lasted far longer than I expected him to._

_The truth was I wished he hadn't held out against Malik for as long as he did. While I didn't quite understand- no, believe- the mysterious circumstances coming to life around my tournament, I did learn one thing or another about this Malik Ishtar. The longer Jounouchi delayed his inevitable demise, the angrier Malik would become and the more brutal his attacks would become._

_Jounouchi was only liable to be hurt if this continued for too long._

_That was something I absolutely couldn't stand for, no matter how much I tried to tell myself not to care._

_I wasn't stupid. I understood the reason that motivated Jounouchi to fight so hard against Malik Ishtar. The reason was currently lying comatose on a bed in the medical bay of my Battle Ship._

_I could really learn to hate Kujaku Mai._

_In retrospect, I should have known better. I had already calculated the probability sometime this morning after we escaped Gozaburo's twisted virtual world. Without a God Card of his own, Jounouchi only had a 0.09% probability of defeating Malik in a duel._

_I had even warned him- told him not to underestimate the power of Malik's God Card. But did he listen to me? Did he ever listen to me? Damn him for being so self-assured for no good reason. Damn him for throwing the four-way duel so he would be the first to face Malik. Damn him for caring so much about that Kujaku woman, and damn her for losing to Malik in the first place._

_I looked over at my rival who was watching the duel with intense concentration. And damn you, Yugi. You supported his recklessness- you allowed him to put himself in this position._

_"Yugi! Kaiba! You're able to see Ra's final form thanks to Jounouchi!" Malik announced with widespread arms, mirroring Ra's wings. "Give him a round of applause as a send-off to the grave!"_

_I could feel the heat of Ra hovering over Malik. The God Phoenix reeled back and dove down to obliterate Jounouchi's remaining monster. Flames and Jounouchi's scream of pain erupted into the air._

_"Jounouchi-kun!" The others shouted in one voice._

_"Kaiba, you have to stop this. Jounouchi will die!" Yami had turned to me with desperation in his crimson eyes._

_I didn't believe in magic then. I didn't buy Malik's rubbish about Games of Darkness. Jounouchi would be fine. He had to be. I wouldn't stop the duel. And Ra's third ability, I needed to see it through for myself in order to defeat Malik._

_But it didn't make any of it easier. The brutal scene of fire and pain seemed to last for an eternity. Smoke swept across Jounouchi's side of the field, completely obscuring him from sight. Malik just threw back his head and laughed, and laughed. It made me want to rip out his vocal cords with my bare hands.  
_

_"How?" Malik screamed. "How are you still alive?"_

_The smokescreen cleared. Jounouchi's once proud posture was bent, but not broken. My chest swelled with pride. He was still standing and all he had to do was attack Malik. He would win. That was the Jounouchi I knew and had fallen for, the one who was too stubborn to give up._

_He had survived the onslaught of a God._

_But miracles are few and far in between.  
_

_So as he fell over, smelling of smoke and his skin a burnt red, I felt the world slow around me. The hologram of Gearfried shattered into shards of light as he hit the ground._

_Isono raised one arm and announced, "We will now begin the countdown."  
_

_"Wait! Jounouchi!" Mokuba was already on the platform checking on the blond duelist. "Jounouchi...he's not breathing!"_

_"No!" Shizuka wasn't supposed to be here either. She was supposed to be with that Kujaku woman._

_"Nii-sama, we have to get the doctors!" _

_I could tell my little brother was scared out of his mind. The incident with Kujaku had been troubling enough, but my brother had never seen death that up close before. Mokuba had been far too young to remember either our mother or father's death, and even the young boy had welcomed Gozaburo's departure.  
_

_"Isono, call it!" I barked, unable to tear my eyes off the prone body lying on the ground._

_"Due to Jounouchi Katsuya's inability to continue the duel, the winner of the first match in the semi-finals is Malik Ishtar." My Master of Ceremonies announced._

_I clasped the KC communicator attached to my coat's lapel as I approached the stage. "Send the doctors to the tower roof now! We have a participant that's not breathing. If they're not here within a minute, I'll have all their medical licenses revoked!"_

_"Kaiba-san! Please save Onii-chan!" Shizuka was sobbing._

_Everyone's eyes were brimming with tears. Honda shook the unresponsive duelist, screaming with all the fury of the heavens. Otogi tried to pry Jounouchi from his friend's hand. I shoved the brunet aside, finally getting him to release Jounouchi. I cupped Jounouchi's still warm cheek and brushed a thumb underneath the nose. There was no air, no tell-tale rise in the chest of a living breath. _

_And I felt as if my heart had stopped with his._

...

Kaiba tried not to replay the scene over and over in his mind. But he did. Every time his eyes began to stray from the program in front of him, his mind would dig up the imagery from the front balcony of his mansion.

He remembered the sight of Jounouchi's arm limp at his side in surprise and the way the man's amber eyes stared at the proximity of the lashes framing Kujaku's closed eyes. He remembered every detail as if he had been standing right next to them.

How he despised Kujaku Mai. Time and time again, she sought to take what was Kaiba's. Just when he thought he was finally free of the nuisance of both Kujaku and Jounouchi for the past decade or so, both of them came crashing back into his life- more infuriating than ever.

He seethed at the gentle kiss Kujaku had given Jounouchi. He had always known that the woman had felt something for Jounouchi and more times than one, Kaiba had wondered if Jounouchi felt something similar in return.

In his mind, the scene kept playing again and again on a seemingly infinite loop. It changed subtly each time though. First, Kujaku was deepening her kiss, and then Jounouchi was kissing her back. Next, she had him pinned against the wall next to the balcony, hidden from sight by the window drapes blowing in the night breeze. He wound his arm around her neck, weaving his fingers into her long, golden locks.

Kaiba slammed his palms down on the keyboard and the playback stopped abruptly. He stared at the computer screen for a second, fixated on the blinking cursor. He glowered as he started to delete the gibberish his moment of rage had inserted into the program he was working on.

He was just about ready to call it for the day. It was only 1pm, but it was clear he wasn't going to get much done. He glared at the piece of paper that had brought about this trouble. He flipped open the card again to reread its content.

 

> _Valentine Boutique cordially invites you to attend the opening of our first franchise store in Domino City on April xx, 20xx._
> 
> _Kujaku Mai  
> _

...

Mokuba stared off into the distance- at nothing in particular really. The stone bleachers under him were cold beneath his palms. The stadium wasn't meant to be comfortable; it was meant to look grand. He could almost see the shadows of the monsters on the platform of the Duel Ring.

Footsteps echoed through the stadium, but he didn't seek their source. He was too busy watching the battle between Yugi and his brother once again. And as his gaze swept to the side of the stage to avoid reliving his brother's defeat at the hands of Exodia, he found himself watching the young Jounouchi of his memory.

That had been the first time Mokuba had laid his eyes on Jounouchi. He was ten at the time, was learning Duel Monsters, and had just experienced his first crush on a female classmate named Hikaru, who was now a popular idol. It was from this battle that "fate" sent them tumbling down the path of extraordinary events afterward.

"Mokuba?" The word rang out impossibly loud.

The ghosts of the past vanished with a blink and Mokuba was once again 24 years old. Someone sat down next to him and he turned. It was Rebecca.

"People have been looking for you," she said.

"My brother?" A lump formed in his throat.

"No."

Mokuba's heart fell. He wanted to understand, but just couldn't. He just couldn't process the notion of his brother and Jounouchi. How far had they gone? How long had this been going on? How was he the only one not to notice?

He felt betrayed.

"Mokuba," she placed his hand over his. "Please talk to me."

He felt angry.

"I respected him," he spat through an ugly sneer. "All my life for as long as I remember and now this. I used to think he was infallible until then," his mind wandered back to that first battle. "I began to understand as I grew older and now I see how wrong I was."

"This doesn't change who your brother is and the fact he loves you."

"No! It changes everything. All my life I thought Nii-sama hated him. They fought over everything. I thought Jounouchi was in love with Mai! They're not supposed to be together!" His body shook with rage. "Why didn't he tell me?"

But Mokuba had known something, he must have. Why else would he now recall the furtive glances between his brother and the other man from years ago? Why else would he remember the feeling of dread from when he first suspected he may no longer to number one in his brother's heart?

"You can be such a selfish brat sometimes." Rebecca muttered as she pulled him into an embrace.

She always did know him better than himself.

...

Jounouchi had quickly settled into a routine after his first four days in Domino, though it mainly consisted of surfing the web and getting reacquainted with Japanese television. It wasn't quite the vacation as he had imagined. It was hard to be among the people when every other teenie bopper knew who you were. He couldn't go eat out at some of his favorite places when he was still a student. He could barely make it out the hotel to catch a ride to one of his friend's house for a visit. The reporters had followed him halfway to Yugi's yesterday before Jounouchi finally gave up on the idea, not wanting to trouble his old friend with crazy onlookers.

"You need to own your new-found fame." Sophie had said.

He rolled his eyes. Of course, it was easy for her to say. She had always acted as if it was her prerogative to do whatever whenever she wanted.

How had Kaiba done it? The brunette was half a celebrity by the time he was sixteen.

Right, he was trying not to think about Kaiba.

He turned his attention to the pile of papers Sophia had dropped off this morning. There were a clippings of some of the interviews he had done since returning to Japan, including the one with Domino Times he did two days ago. He set that aside for later reading. There were also two envelopes in the pile. The first contained a card from Mai, inviting him to the grand opening of her boutique next week. The other... He stared at the giant interlocked "KC" printed on the front of the envelope.

At first he was tempted to throw it in the trash bin. If Kaiba had something to say to him, the man could damn well look him up and say it to his face. But curiosity quickly got the better of him.

It was yet another invitation.

_You are cordially invited to join us at the annual Kaiba Corporation Charity Ball benefiting Child's Play, a game industry charity dedicated to improving the lives of children with toys and games in a network of over 60 hospitals worldwide._

The event was in two weeks. And scrawled underneath the date was Sophia's tidy handwriting: _I've already purchased our tickets. Please make sure you have something appropriate to wear to the party._

His thoughts were fortunately interrupted by the hotel phone next to his bed ringing. He dropped the invitation like hot coal and rushed to answer the call. Anything, even the paparazzi, was a welcome distraction from thinking about Kaiba Seto.

"Hello?"

There was no immediate reply.

"Hello?"

Now he was starting to get annoyed. Even the cliched heavy breathing on the other end would have been better than this oppressive silence.

"Seriously, anyone there?"

A loud click sounded in response, then followed by the dial tone. He slammed the handset back into its cradle. Jounouchi could already tell today was going to be a miserable day.

...

When Sophia got around to doing her job, she was 150% effective.

Jounouchi quickly tucked the stray strand of blond hair under the black wig. He smiled for the first time in hours. Right now the paparazzi were chasing after a look-alike decoy Sophia had hired, a trick she had picked up from her time in Hong Kong she claimed. He swore that he would never complain about the American paparazzi again- for their Japanese counterpart was a hundred times worse.

It was the first time he had been able to leave the hotel by himself since Tuesday. The first thing he intended to do was pick up a copy of the anthology his baby sister's manga was premiering in.

The door gave a cheerful chime as he glided through the door of the local Kinokuniya.

"Welcome, is there anything I can help you with?" The sale clerk by the cashier greeted him.

He shook his head and moved deeper into the store to avoid further interaction with sale associates. The manga section was easy enough to find.

His chest swelled with pride at the sight of Shizuka's name on the cover of _Young Magazine_. His hand shot forward to lay claim the first copy on top of the pile. Too bad he wasn't the only one that wanted it.

"Hey, watch it-" He snapped at the other person.

He stopped cold under the piercing gaze of Kaiba Seto. "Excuse me." The brunette said dryly.

A lump was forming in Jounouchi's throat. It was the first time he had come face to face with Kaiba since the party at his house. They hadn't even said a word to each other that evening, only sharing that one glance across the balcony and driveway. And for them to meet again now, here of all place...

"Please don't stop on my account." Kaiba nodded in the direction of the magazine they had both been reaching for.

"Uh right, sorry." He snatched the issue up and quickly turned his back the other man. Didn't the CEO have people to run errands like this?

With one last furtive glance back and his heart pounding in his chest, Jounouchi quickly made his escape toward the cashier to pay for his purchase. Kaiba got in line behind him though, with his own copy of Young Magazine and another business magazine. When he ducked into the cafe next door to take a moment to get coffee and flip through the manga, Kaiba followed him through the automatic doors. And when Kaiba chose to seat himself across the table from Jounouchi, he quickly went the full spectrum from anxious to pissed.

"Seriously man, what the hell is your problem? Are you like a stalker or something?" Jounouchi snapped. "I'll call the cops."

There was a moment of silence as the other man flipped open his business magazine. Blue eyes met his in an unflinching gaze. "I really doubt you're going to do that, Jounouchi."

He wasn't surprised that Kaiba was the one to see through his disguise. It made sense in the grand scheme of God fucking with Jounouchi at every opportunity. He just felt resigned and trapped instead. "What do you want, Kaiba?"

...

Kaiba hadn't initially considered the other man also looking at the rack of manga much. But the moment their hands touched- and as cliched and melodramatic as it might seem- he knew it was Jounouchi. The voice and the slouched shoulders that hastily made retreat toward the cashier's counter confirmed it.

To the question of why he continued to follow the blond afterward, he did not readily have any answer for.

He glanced up from the magazine he wasn't really interested in reading at the moment to study Jounouchi's face. The black hair didn't really suit the man; Kaiba preferred its natural color. If he had seen the face first, those amber eyes would have immediately given away its owner's true identity. Those eyes always gave what Jounouchi was feeling- and right now, that was annoyance.

"Well?" The other man folded his arms across his chest, brows furrowed with impatience.

Kaiba was saved from having to answer by the arrival of the waitress.

"What can I get you gentleman today?"

"Two cups of coffee, extra cream and extra sugar, and two slices of tiramisu. That's all." He ordered without a second thought and gave her a pointed glare for emphasis.

Jounouchi sputtered with anger as the waitress immediately walked away. "You know, there are plenty of other seats." He gestured around the half full cafe.

He held his head higher. "I sit where I damn please." With the implication that he wanted to sit right here.

"Fuck you, Kaiba."

He swallowed the crude remark he wanted to reply with. "I see you're alone today." For all intents and purposes, Jounouchi was alone and unaccompanied by reporters, his manager, or Kujaku. He did his best to swallow the anger that came with thinking about the kiss he had witnessed.

"It is supposed to be my vacation." The blond grumbled.

They lapsed back into silence when the waitress returned with their order, setting a cup of coffee and a slice of cake down for each of them. Even after all these years, Jounouchi's eyes still lit up at the very sight of food.

"Good to see some things haven't changed." Kaiba muttered to himself.

"What'd you say?" Jounouchi asked before shoving the first forkful of cake into his mouth.

He pushed his plate across the length of the table. "Take it. Watching you eat makes me lose my appetite." Never mind the fact he had never planned to eat it in the first place and had ordered it specifically for the blond.

"Your loss!" The other man proclaimed. "And no take-backs!"

Kaiba nursed his cup of coffee as silence fell over them again. Jounouchi appeared to have learned restraint since their teenage years as he didn't immediately inhale both pieces of cake. Whereas their previous conversation had reminded him of the banter they once shared as Jounouchi tried to ignore his intentions and Kaiba tried to move on, he is now painfully aware of the fact they are both now grown men with careers at stake and reputations to maintain.

That was when he noticed her in the corner of the cafe, unsuccessfully trying to blend in with the rest of the customers. Maybe Jounouchi had not escaped the grasp of the paparazzi or maybe she had just followed Kaiba. It was that Yamato Kimiko woman from Honda's paper. He didn't make it a habit of remembering reporters or their names, but she'd always been a particularly persistent one. He stood abruptly- the chair scraping against the floor as he forcibly pushed it back. He gathered his things and flung a couple of 1000 yen notes down on the a word of goodbye, he left a confused and hurt Jounouchi behind.

After all, they both had so much more to lose nowadays.

...

Unwilling to return and face an empty hotel room after his encounter with Kaiba, Jounouchi took the twenty-minute bus ride to the Turtle Game Shop instead. The little shop was just as he last remembered. A sun-faded poster of the Battle City tournament still hung in one of the store's window. He had spent many hours with his friends here in the past and the sight of the store made him feel like he was finally home since he first returned to Japan.

"I'm sorry, but we're closing for the night." Yugi had placed down the box he was moving at the sound of the door opening.

Jounouchi pulled off his black wig and offered his friend a wide smile.

Yugi turned to shout up the staircase behind him. "Anzu, Jounouchi-kun is here."

"Tell that idiot he should come up here and help me with dinner if he wants any." Came the response from the house upstairs.

Anzu was waiting for for him at the top of the stairs, dressed in what would have otherwise been an oversized apron. She was bigger than he remembered.

"Gee, Anzu you're as big as a house." He exclaimed.

She whacked his arm with the ladle she was carrying, sending droplets of curry flying through the air. "Good to see you too."

Dinner turned out to be his favorite: curry and rice. Once in a while, he would look to the empty seat at the head where Sugoroku used to sit. He felt a pang of regret at having missed the funeral.

"Jounouchi-kun," Yugi's words were a welcomed interruption. "What are your plans after this?"

"You mean, my trip? Uh, I'm leaving toward the end of the month. The entire cast is going full blast into promotion mode then, so I'm definitely taking part in that." Jounouchi chased a slice of carrot around his plate.

"And afterward?" Anzu continued.

"Sophie and I have been going over some of the projects that have contacted us." His mind was mentally sorting through the list of auditions Sophie had scheduled for him. He needed to keep working if he want money for food and rent. As a small-fry in the industry, he hadn't made that much signing onto the movie as his co-stars had, even if he was one of the male leads. Offers of work, still mostly smaller parts, came pouring in after the movie had wrapped. He had apparently gained a reputation of being brash but pleasant to work with. Not that he had needed Sophie to tell him that, he knew he was a decent and fun guy.

"You'll come back, right?"

He looked up at the two people sitting across from him and the hesitant anticipation etched across both of their faces. Two months ago, he would have never contemplated returning to Japan. But now, he couldn't imagine staying away again. His expression softened, feeling the love of his family and friends envelop him. "Of course. Who else is going to be the kid's cool uncle? Not Honda, he's all grown up and properly employed. He'll be the luckiest kid with a movie star uncle like me." His stuck his chest out proudly as he point at himself.

The tension cracked and conversations turned to the enthusiastic topic of preparing for the arrival of Yugi and Anzu's first child.

...

If someone had asked Kaiba to pinpoint the exact moment he became part of Mutou Yugi's social circle, he wouldn't be able to say for sure. But somewhere along the way and in the midst of their past battles, he got used to their presence in his life and stopped completely begrudging the way they had so forcibly inserted themselves into said life. At the very least, they were trustworthy comrades- they had never betrayed his trust thus far and had more than enough ammunition to do so.

Growing up had helped for one thing. Though he had felt like anything but at the time, he now recognized he had been a teenager- just not a typical one. Yes, a teenager with a penchant for hanging out of helicopters, dragons, and high-stake card games. Not that he had completely outgrown some of those things.

They had also helped to ease the rejection of Jounouchi's disappearance and the loneliness when Mokuba had gone to college in the states. They had always treated him like one of their own, and despite his scorn, it became the truth eventually.

Yes, growing up did wonders for the soul. Even he, Kaiba Seto, came to accept the idea of other people besides Mokuba and himself. And in time, he came to appreciate and respect each of them for their own merits. Not that he went particularly out of his way to see them either. They just happened to attend many of the same functions in a smaller city like Domino, and often he was glad to have them there to distract him from his even more inept peers.

Except today was not one of those days.

"You're sulking again." Malik pointed out.

Kaiba chose not to comment on how his press agent looked like a condemned prisoner facing the gallows. He suspected that without Yugi's meddling, neither he or the Egyptian would have bothered to accept Kujaku Mai's invitation.

As it turned out, Kujaku was something of a big name in the fashion world and her opening party was almost as star-studded as the red carpet at an award ceremony. A number of starlets had approached him, showering him with comments about his sharp dress and harboring delusions of snagging some exclusive time with the unconventional CEO. More than a few of them walked away just minutes later, offended by his coldness and ignorance of who they were. Kaiba never paid much attention to television or movies- unless he was involved somehow.

"It'll be a wonder if half of Japan doesn't turn against you after some of those comments they making about you." Honda muttered as he approached them. "But I guess that's what keeps you in a job, huh Malik? By the way, I heard the city desk assigned Kimiko to cover the event."

"Ugh," Malik groaned at the mention of his least favorite reporter. "Just my luck. I better make sure you still have a reputation to leave with, Kaiba." The man quickly vanished into the crowd.

Yugi soon found them as well. With a second glance though, Kaiba realized it was Yami in control. He saw his one-time rival less and less over the years, often leading him to wonder if the spirit of the Pharaoh had been some mass hallucination all along until Yami would reappear just to remind him otherwise.

"I just saw Jounouchi arrive with his sister." The shorter man pointed to the line of press crowded outside the storefront.

Both he and Honda froze at the mention of the persons they each were so hesitant and eager to see. This was definitely not what Kaiba Seto at 16 years old would have imagined to be in his future some 12 years later.

...

"Congratulations Mai." Jounouchi gave the blond woman a brief hug.

"I'm so glad you made it, Jounouchi." She smiled in return.

It had been almost two weeks since her confession on the balcony of Kaiba's mansion. She was still waiting for his answer. He tried not to let that thought weigh too heavily on him today, because frankly, he still didn't have a good enough response for her yet.

"Shizuka-chan, it's been such a long time." Mai had pulled his little sister into a tight hug too.

"Ah, Mai-san. I'm happy to see you again too." The younger woman returned the hug with enthusiasm.

The press quickly descended on them like a swarm of locust. Jounouchi plastered on the brightest smile he could manage and place a protective arm around his little sister. In his head, he repeated the mantra Sophie had given him: _Own your fame_.

"Joey-san, is it true that Jounouchi Shizuka is your sister then?"

A flash of light from someone's almost momentarily blinded him. He looked down at Shizuka, who had reached up to give his hand a reassuring squeeze and an encouraging smile. "It's true." He replied simply.

For the first time since the truth about his identity came out, he felt light and ready to face anything the world threw at him. He was Jounouchi Katsuya whole again. The truth really did set you free.

Sophie stepped in front to intercept the questions that followed, attempting to placate them with promises of a later press conference. The hired help shuffled the siblings past the mob of reporters and safely into the VIP zone behind the red velvet rope. Mai blew the press members a kiss and thanked them for showing up to support the opening, before finally following them into the party inside the store.

It took Jounouchi's eyes a moment to adjust to the dim lighting. Mai's store looked more like a club than a boutique at the moment. A DJ was busy at the turntable set up at the end of the makeshift runway cutting down the center of the store.

"You sure throw one hell of a party." Jounouchi whistled as he scanned the crowd for familiar faces.

With a beaming smile, Mai tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Of course, I wouldn't have it any other way."

Shizuka suddenly extracted herself from his arms with a murmur of apology. "I'm sorry, Onii-chan. I'll be back later."

He blinked and she had already vanished into a crowd of dancers. "What?" That was when he spotted Honda making a beeline for them. His best friend gave him a nervous smile before pursuing his sister deep into the crowd.

Mai was leaning against him now. The touch was meant to be causal, but he felt himself unable to relax. "I see he's still chasing her after all these years."

"They were engaged actually." He mumbled.

"Were?" She sounded surprised, but didn't prod any further. For that, Jounouchi was grateful. He was so close to feeling like himself again and really didn't want that old bout of guilt to return so quickly.

"Would you like to dance?" It was a slow song now and her smile suddenly seemed tight. "As friends."

"Sure." Jounouchi took the offered hand carefully, as if it might burn him.

As they danced, he couldn't help but reflect on how things would have been so much easier if he had fallen for Mai instead. She had her flaws, as any human did, but she had overcome them. And her personal demons...they were nothing compared to what little he had seen or knew of Kaiba's. In any objective sense, Mai was the better choice of the two. She was strong and faithful, and so much easier to understand.

Kaiba? He was like a puzzle wrapped in an enigma buried at the heart of a labyrinth. Jounouchi gave himself a mental pat on the back for coming up with such a brilliant metaphor.

If only he had met Mai first, maybe then he would have stood a chance. If only she had stayed instead of Kaiba...

"Jounouchi?"

"Hm?"

"Don't look now, but I think Kaiba's staring."

He looked up in surprise. From across the room, Kaiba Seto was indeed watching them closely.

...

Even though it made Kaiba a hypocrite, he firmly believed sentimentality was for people of weaker stock than himself. Yet, he still couldn't tear his gaze away from the couple on the makeshift dance floor.

"It's almost like they picked up right where they left off." Yami commented.

Kaiba growled. Yes, it did look that way.

"I always thought they'd make a cute couple." Yami was glancing at him out of the corner of his crimson eye. "She's certainly a lot better for Jounouchi-kun than some other candidates."

He was gritting his teeth now. The next time he thought he missed his old rival, he would be sure to remember this moment instead. "Leave me alone, Yami. Or Yugi's child may find himself without a father soon."

The other man snorted and walked away. He knew Yami didn't take his threat seriously, but at least he was alone again. He watched as Kujaku leaned in closer to Jounouchi to say something. The two then parted as the blond man moved further into the crowd and the woman headed his way.

He felt his scowl deepen.

"I see you're still doing that creepy stalker bit." She was twirling a strand of hair as she approached.

"Excuse me, Kujaku. I wasn't aware you invited me here for the express purpose of mocking me." He was trying his hardest to burn a hole through her forehead.

"I'm not blind, Kaiba. I noticed it during Battle City. You were always watching him from the background when you thought no one else was paying attention. I eventually figured out why though." She was standing right in front of him now, invading his personal space. A perfectly manicured finger poked him in the chest. "And you still have feelings for him, don't you?"

He lightly swatted away the offending hand. "As delusional as ever."

The smile on her perfect lipsticked lips widened. He suspected she figured she was winning this little game between them. "You always did that too, acting as if you couldn't be bothered to give a shit. It's no wonder Jounouchi never took to you."

He wanted to laugh. Did she really fancy herself a challenger? An equal? The sheer arrogance was so much like Jounouchi's, and perhaps that was why she had been drawn to the other blond to begin with. "What would you know about Jounouchi and me? You were always too busy running off after each tournament or siding with the enemy."

He felt a spark of satisfaction as she visibly winced at the mention of her time with Dartz's men.

"I've played my hand. What about you? Are you planning on making a move or are you just going to be a coward?"

Kaiba finally did laugh. "Don't presume yourself to be at my level. You're not ready to play in my league yet."

"Just don't forget then, all's fair in love, war, and Duel Monsters." She turned around, probably thinking she had gotten the last word in.

He grabbed her forearm and muttered lowly. "I may have stood for your interference years ago, but no longer."

She met his hard gaze with no fear and only determination when he tightened his grip. Kaiba supposed he should not have expected anything less from the woman who had probably fallen for all the same things in Jounouchi as he had.

"That choice is not for you to make, now is it, Kaiba? You alone can't determine the end all and be all in a relationship. You can't control the choices other people make."

That was a fact he had been painfully aware of for a very long while. The world had seemed like such a less complicated place when he only attributed agency to himself and his brother.

...

The headlines and photos were splashed all over the front page the next day- the front page of the Entertainment section, but a front page nonetheless.

Right under the headline were side-by-side photos: one capturing Jounouchi's dance with Mai and the other recording the moment Kaiba himself had grabbed the other woman's arm.

He tore his eyes away from the code on his screen. He didn't need to program anything himself, but he always found the exercise relaxing. He scowled at the name in the byline, Yamato Kimiko.

He would get her fired for good one day.

And he would have happily remained unaware of the gossip if Malik hadn't dropped off the paper earlier this morning.

"At least it's not the truth." His PR manager had shrugged.

But the rest of the world took it as gospel. Within hours, the internet exploded into a storm of speculation. It wasn't long before various Duel Monsters blog began posting old photos from the first Battle City tournament over a decade ago.

How long has this going on?

According to the pictures from Battle City, some would say years. Others would point to Jounouchi's recent return to Japan instead.

Pretty much all of the Duel Monsters world knew about the animosity between Kaiba Seto and Jounouchi Katsuya from way back and now they were so assured they knew the reason why.

But as always, they had no idea what they were talking about. He spread the article over his keyboard and began scanning its content. Even a man like Kaiba Seto could use a good laugh in light of the recent events in his life.

> **Kaiba Seto and Joey Katsuya Battle It Out Over Fashion Bombshell!**


	8. Track 7- Shiver

_When I had come to, I was greeted by a sea of concerned faces. Both Shizuka and Anzu had cried. Honda even looked a bit teary eyed toward the end. The doctor demanded that I rest, unable to hide his flabbergast expression. But I couldn't rest. Not while I had apparently failed Mai, not when Yugi and Kaiba were nowhere to be seen. For some reason, I knew exactly where they were. They were dueling at the top of the tower, but something felt wrong and my guts told me Kaiba was trying to make the wrong choice for the wrong reasons._

_"There is no victory at the end of hate." Yami had said as the last of the holograms faded away. I had reached the top of the Duel Tower just in time to watch Yami's monster deliver the final blow to three Blue Eyes White Dragons. Anzu, Honda, and Otogi immediately rushed past me to be closer to the stage; leaving me standing behind in the shadowed stairway._

_I felt a bit sorry for Kaiba then. The guy seriously looked like he was about to go into shock. Most of all, he looked almost defeated. His eyes were glazed over and his face pale as he stared down at his shaking hands. I found myself stepping forward to approach the other boy despite myself._

_Yami continued, "Kaiba, you forget that there can be no future without a past. The path to your future is built on the foundations of your past and present. We cannot be who we are without our past."_

_"Yugi, you're mistaken. A true duelist only needs his own strength! As per the ante rule, take this God card."_

_Yami caught the card that cut through the air. I would have to ask Kaiba one day how he throws cards like that. He swept past Yami in a blur of his flashy white trenchcoat and soon he was approaching us. But then, I think he noticed me hanging back and froze._

_"Jounouchi! You're awake!" Mokuba exclaimed, running forward to see if I was really standing in front of them._

_I gave the boy a small smile to try and reassure him._

_"Jounouchi-kun." Yami at least had the decency to look relieved to see me._

_And for a moment, I thought I might had seen the same expression of relief flicker across Kaiba's features. His face was unreadable, but I knew better. He only wore that mask when he had something to hide._

Hate will only lead to death.

_I blinked- not sure where the words had come from. But I knew one thing, if I let him leave now alone and in this state, he would do something drastic. He had lost a lot in the last few days, with the God Card probably the least of all. Even more, all of us had witnessed those losses. While it may have given the rest of us more insight into who and why Kaiba is who is he, he'd only see them as further weaknesses on his own part. _

_And the monster inside his heart would only continue to fester and grow..._

_"Kaiba, duel me." The words were barely above a whisper, but from the incredulous look on everyone's faces, I knew they had heard too. "We'll fight it out for third place."_

_He laughed with one hand reaching out to push me away. "Get out of the way, bonkotsu. I have no interest in fighting a loser."_

_His words made me mad- he knew they would. But I could bite back too and make it hurt more. I could see the things he wanted no one else to see. I grabbed the wrist on my shoulder and shoved the hand away, ignoring the thrill that raced down my spine at the contact. "At least I don't run like a dog with my tail between my legs every time I lose a duel."_

_His shoulders tensed and eyes narrowed. "What did you say?"_

_It probably wasn't the best thing to say considering Kaiba's mood at the time. "Like I said, I never took you as a coward. Maybe you need me to teach you what it really means to be a duelist. No matter how many times I'm beaten, I always get back up."_

_Whether it was a God card, my father, and now Kaiba, I would get right back up. Defeat was never final for Jounouchi Katsuya._

_Kaiba's nostrils flared and he stormed past me. Just when I was about to think my ploy for his attention had failed, I heard him say from behind me. "But you almost didn't get back up again after Malik was done with you."_

_I stood in shock for a few moment, just listening to the sound of his retreating footsteps. I realized that Kaiba was walking the same path as Mai, too proud or too afraid to accept other people's help._

_And I would be damned if I let what happened to her happen to him as well._

_I turned and followed the two brothers down the stairs to the elevator. "Kaiba, you self-centered bastard, don't walk away while I'm talking to you."_

_It was then the elevator announced its arrival with a loud beep. Mokuba, with all his childhood exuberance, rushed through the two glass doors as soon as they opened. Kaiba tried to follow this brother, but I quickly inserted myself between him and the elevator._

_We had stared at each other for a few moments before the elevator began beeping insistently._

_"Mokuba, I'll be down right after I take care of the bonkotsu." Kaiba's glare never strayed from my face as he addressed his brother._

_The doors closed with a quiet clunk, followed by the low hum of the elevator's descent._

_He loomed over me, closing the last of the distance between us. "Are you trying to pick a fight, Jounouchi? I would have thought the beating Malik gave you was plenty enough."_

_It took a moment for his words to sink in, because I was too busy studying the lashes framing his angry blue eyes. "I think you need to check your facts. I would have won that duel if I didn't-"_

_"What? Die?"_

_I wasn't prepared for Kaiba to actually get physical. Two hands suddenly grabbed a hold of my shoulders and I found myself suddenly dangling two inches off the ground and against the wall. Our faces were just centimeters apart, lips close enough to kiss... _

_Okay, now was definitely not the time to be having thoughts like that!_

_"You stopped breathing," he snarled. "For two and a half minutes, you were dead. All because you were sticking your nose where it didn't belong, because you have absolutely no consideration of your own limitations."_

_"Oh, like you were doing so damn much for Mai. I had to do it, I had to be the one to do it. Malik was mine to beat!"_

_"Is she so damn important that it's worth your life?" _

_The volume of his voice caught me by surprise. I stared at the face tried so hard to appear closed off and void of emotion, but I had saw a glimpse of the anger that simmered underneath the surface. Kaiba liked to think he was so good at hiding his emotions, but there were always little tells that gave him away. Whether it was a sudden curtness to his words, an unconscious balling of his hands, or just the slight tilt of his head to a side, the little tells told me exactly what he was really feeling. There had been genuine concern being held back, a_ _nd I almost forgave all his asshole behavior right there.  
_

_Then he had to open that big mouth of his again, "I'm sure there are less drastic measures you can take to get in her pants."  
_

_"Mai is a very important friend, and I would do the same for any of my friends. If only you had some, maybe you wouldn't feel so empty all the time!" And when he wasn't being a complete headcase, I was more than willing to do the same for Kaiba. I cared enough to be here in the first place, didn't I?  
_

_I grabbed the lapel of his jacket and tried to knee him in the stomach. He was always two steps ahead of me though, taking one of my arm and he threw me to the floor instead. My brain rattled in my skull and my back painfully objected to the sudden impact with the ground. Kaiba grabbed me and turned me over, straddling my stomach with one fist balled up in my shirt. "I don't need anyone! Not you, not Yugi, none of this bullshit you cheerleaders keep spouting. Hate and anger has given me all the power I've ever needed."_

_"And that hate only leads to death." I spat in return, unable to get the phantom words out of my head._

_For whatever reason, this made him pause. His eyes widened only a fraction, but it was enough to give off a spark of recognition. "That's what she said."_

_I didn't know who "she" was._

_Oblivious to me, he continued. "I tried going down the other path, the better path. You turned me away from it, Jounouchi. I travel down this road because you and everyone else gave me no other choice. The other one can't still be an option at this point. It can't possibly be worth it."_

_His weight was suddenly gone and I could feel myself breathe easier. A card landed on my face, blocking my worm's eye view of him._

_"Yugi claims he won our duel because of the card you gave him, that the power of your friendship led him to victory. If he truly wants a chance to defeat Ra, he'll need this. Give it to him and he'll prove me right. There are no miracles."_

_I quickly sat up but managed to catch the Duel Monsters card, _Devil's Sanctuary,_ before it fell._

_"Kaiba, wait."_

_He was already gone though._

_But I had seen it in a brief second, the fear and the doubt he had held back from his face and very being until then. Because Kaiba would never admit to being afraid for anything... least of all for me..._

...

Sophie had been acting strange all day. Jounouchi watched as his manager berated the makeup artist with fervor, her arms and hands gesticulating wildly with every curse that fell from her lips.

The stylist was in tears when she finally excused herself while Sophie had to stop to take a breath. He watched the girl go with pity.

"Sophie, that's was unnecessary." He looked up to stare at her evenly. "I don't care what has you in a rage today, it doesn't give you the right to take it out on other people."

She huffed and puffed. Eventually the red in her face faded away. "Well, as a make-up artist she should damn well know what I mean about you being a Summer." She tossed the day's issue of the Domino Times at him- the Entertainment section to be precise. "And have you seen this article yet?"

Jounouchi had when the paper was delivered alongside his breakfast this morning. Personally, he thought the article was hilarious. He didn't know what Yamato Kimiko had been smoking before writing that article, but she must have balls the size of Saturn to implicate Kaiba in a romantic rivalry with him over Mai.

It would be a cold day in hell before Kaiba Seto treated anyone more affectionately than with subtle scorn.

_But he has_, a little voice in his head nagged._ And to you no less._

Jounouchi firmly placed that part of his mind under lock and key.

"I got a call from Malik Ishtar this morning too. He wants to know how we're going to deal with this one." Sophia was rummaging through her purse as she spoke. She gave a small noise of triumph when she fished out a pack of cigarettes.

He raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Like what we always do? Deny it vehemently?"

"Yeah sure, I'm sure the media will totally buy that. It might also help your cases if you two weren't always hitting each other or fighting in public."

"Tell Kaiba to stop it then, he's always the one starting shit."

She rolled her eyes and lifted her lighter to the end of the cigarette dangling between her teeth.

He was faster than her though and took the lighter right from her grip. It was a game that they had been playing for years, one that he wished they could stop. "Sophie, this is going to kill you."

She pouted. "Please, working for you will do that first. If I had known it would be this much hassle, I wouldn't have brought you back to Japan to reunite with your loved ones."

He ignored her jib. "Did Malik say what he was planning to do on Kaiba's end?" He was genuinely curious about how Kaiba felt about the entire situation.

She shrugged. "He says his boss was being completely unhelpful in that regard, that's why he called to see if we had any ideas."

"Typical." Jounouchi muttered sourly. Kaiba never did give a damn about what others thought about him, which led Jounouchi to wonder why the brunet even had a publicist to begin with. Then again, Kaiba had always acted more the celebrity than the businessman, never shying away from controversy or confrontation- practically even inviting them most of the time. But still, would it have killed the man to show a little concern about being tied romantically to Mai?

"Are you jealous, Katsuya?"

"Of who? Kaiba?" He snorted. Sure the bastard was far too rich and far too good-looking for his own good, but Jounouchi had watched the other man earn everything he owned through blood and sweat.

"No," she shook her head. "Mai."

The sheer absurdity of her statement stunned him into silence. At least, that's what he tried to convince himself- that he was not weighing the veracity of her words. After all, Mai had confessed to him and not Kaiba. But why had she invited Kaiba to the opening? As far as he knew, the two had never so much as exchanged a word (1) or even a glance at each other. And why did he suddenly feel sixteen and stupid all over again?

Sophie was quiet, and when Sophie was quiet, she was up to something. His manager was studying him with an expression of intense concentration, highlighting all the frown lines on her face. She looked tired..

"What's wrong? Have I been working you too hard? This is supposed to be your vacation too." He took a step closer to the woman.

Sophie pulled him into a sudden and tight embrace. Though her words were muffled by his shoulders, he could still understand them. "This entire experience has been overwhelming for me too. I know what I said when we first met, but it's really coming together. You're like a son to me..."

He returned the hug, hoping it would be enough to ward off the guilt of the son she did leave behind.

"You tell me if you notice anything wrong, the first sign of anything right?"

He stoked her hair. "Everything's fine, it really is."

What Jounouchi didn't know was the frequency of the death threats had increased to three a day, with each becoming increasingly intimate in its detail and each note turning up increasingly closer and closer to home.

...

As soon as Jounouchi stepped off the elevator, he was thrown off by the noise and the bustle of the newspaper's office. Somewhere, someone was yelling loudly and music followed from one of the nearby cubicles. He couldn't help but wonder how anyone could get any writing done in this environment.

"I'm looking for Honda Hiroto." He said as he approached what must be the receptionist at her desk to the right.

The receptionist gave him the third degree first. He was wearing the black wig again, but was also wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses to avoid being detected like Kaiba had done just a week ago. He gathered he must look pretty suspicious from the skeptical look on the woman's face.

"Down the hall, third door on the left." She finally said and turned back to her game of solitaire or whatever she was previously doing on her computer.

The hallway of private offices was a different world from the noisy cubicle farm he had been originally greeted with. Brass plates lined the walls next to each door, denoting both the office's owner and the job title. Sure enough, Honda's name was on the brass plate next to the third door on the left of the corridor. Under his friend's full name, the job title read: "Editor, Crime Desk." He raised a fist to knock but paused, not knowing if his friend wanted to see him at all. He was mostly here at the behest of Yugi and Anzu. They were right in that he too had to take some responsibility in the upset of his sister and friend's relationship- or at the very least show some concern and support.

When he finally steeled his nerve, the door opened just before his fist met the wood and Jounouchi found himself looking into the surprised face of his best friend.

"Hello, can I help you?" Honda asked.

Jounouchi was about to make a smartass comment until he remembered his disguise. He took off his sunglasses and looked straight into the other man's eye. "It's me, Honda."

It took the brunet several moments before the recognition settled in. "Jou-"

He quickly cupped a hand over the other man's mouth and hissed. "Not here. Do you want the entire office to know I'm here?"

Honda stepped back out of the doorway to let Jounouchi in. It wasn't a very large room, but it was a private office nonetheless. Honda had stepped back behind his desk and Jounouchi lowered himself onto the seat that was offered to him. The two of them sat in silence for long, agonizing moment- neither sure of how to proceed.

Feeling as if he should be the bigger man, Jounouchi made the first move. "Honda, I should apologize...for everything. You must think I'm a complete asshole to just come strolling back into your lives and think you'd all be just as forgiving as Yugi. And I didn't. I thought you of all people would hit me, but I guess Kaiba got the honor of doing that first. But I'm sorry, okay? For going away in the first place and coming back like I did-"

Honda interrupted him. "Jounouchi, I only want you to answer one question: Are you just going to pick up and disappear on us again? We've managed the last ten years without you, so don't think we can't manage another 20." The other man's shoulders were tense with anticipation.

The funny thing about adolescent friendships is you think they'll last forever. At the time, Jounouchi had thought so too. And the bonds of their friendship had been particularly special; forged, strengthened, and tested by supernatural dangers that were drawn to them in their youth. If any friendship was to stand the test of time, it should have been theirs. Just as Honda and the others had moved on in the last decade, so had Jounouchi. But maybe that was the fact that hurt each of them the most.

"But just because we can, doesn't mean we have to. But to answer your question, no. I don't plan to cut ties when I leave this time. You'll all know exactly where I am."

His friend broke their shared gaze and looked down at his folded hands resting on the tabletop. "I had forgotten how much I missed having you around until you showed up again."

Jounouchi felt a slow smile creep across his face as he watched the other man's shoulders sag in relief. "Me too."

"How about we get lunch while we catch up?" Honda stood from his seat.

They just burst into laughter when Jounouchi's stomach loudly replied before his mouth could.

...

Shizuka thanked Anzu for the cup of green tea with a nervous style. She hadn't been back to the Mutou household since that day she first saw her brother on TV. Life had been nothing but ups and downs from the moment on. The re-emergence of her brother was the greatest highlight of the last five years, overwhelming even the amazing things that had happened in her career so far. But with that great joy came all the other problems: the press, the scrutiny, her fall-out with her fiance...

That was probably why Anzu had invited her over; to talk about Hiroto.

"I read the first chapter of the manga." The older woman said as she slowly sat down in the seat opposite of Shizuka.

"What'd you think?" The reception had been generally favorable so far, but the opinions of the people who had lived through some of the events this was based on mattered to her the most.

Anzu paused for a moment to think first. "I think it's a good start and it seems like you've already set up for the vast majority of the relationships you want in that first chapter. I wonder if that's the right approach to take..."

Shizuka was quiet for a moment. Hiroto had said the same thing. He felt she had been forcing things too hard and too early; that the choices made should grow organically as a result of character development. She began chewing on her bottom lip. Unable to hold back the sadness that was welling in her heart over more thoughts of her fiance, she said, "Anzu-san and Yugi-san are really amazing... What chance do the rest of us have in comparison..."

Perhaps detecting the truth behind her distress, Anzu just gave her an encouraging smile. "We're just like any other couple. We have our problems and our quarrels."

"I can't imagine over what."

The older woman laughed a little as she gently rubbed her swollen abdomen. "Did you miss the fact my husband is a gaming otaku and the King of Games? During the first year we dated, he spent more time with Yami and playing Duel Monsters than he did with me."

Shizuka furrowed her brows in confusion, but grateful to be able to momentarily escape the sad thoughts. "I thought Yugi-san had retired from Duel Monsters by the time you two started dating."

Anzu looked down at her own cup of tea. "We started in our last year of high school actually, but then I was headed to Juilliard... We decided it was best if we saw other people in the mean time."

"Did Yugi-san really?" Shizuka leaned forward in rapt attention.

The brunette chuckled. "Yugi has his fair share of Duel Monsters fangirls, maybe not as many as Kaiba-kun, but my husband was quite popular. He even went on a date with Vivian Wong."

The younger woman's eyes were wide with amazement. She had heard about the Chinese woman from her brother after the Kaiba Grand Prix Tournament. "Really?"

"It was a disaster from what I heard. Yugi had to duel her halfway through the date to end it."

"And did you?" To Shizuka, Yugi and Anzu had always been the epitome of what all couples should be- the role model to which she always looked to in terms of relationships.

"Of course. I dated my share of dancers and actors while I was in New York. It was probably for the best, I don't think our relationship could have survived the long distance if we tried." She frowned at the thought of the hypothetical. "And I think he wasn't sure if I was with him just because of Yami."

Shizuka had only met the spirit of the Egyptian king a dozen times. At first, she had wondered if she was going insane; if it was some weird split personality disorder. But if that was so, everyone else was just as crazy. She guessed it was easier to accept the strange events she had seen around Battle City by attributing them to an ancient Egyptian spirit. After all, she had included it in her manga...

Anzu placed a hand over hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Every lasting relationship has its compromise and those moments where we need to forgive." The older woman gave her a pointed look. "Yes, Honda kept the situation with Jounouchi from you, but so did the rest of us. You have yet to fault any of us for that."

She knew Anzu felt bad about keeping the secret. She knew they all felt guilty about what they did, especially her Hiroto. "But Anzu, I was this close to spending the rest of my life with him. More than anyone else, he should have known what news of Onii-chan meant to me! If he can keep a secret that big from me, what else could he not be telling me?"

"Honda has been nothing but completely faithful to you." It wasn't often that Shizuka was on the receiving end of the older woman's glare.

"I know that, rationally."

She knew Hiroto had been trying to protect her from being hurt- from herself. The disappearance of his brother had hit her the hardest when it happened; most more so than it did Kaiba, because Kaiba did not mourn his losses and could only overcome them. What she hadn't expected was that his return would hurt her even more. Her beloved brother had planned to return to Japan, do his business, and then return to the US without so much as a "hello." Her heart ached; her brother was still going to be leaving in a matter of weeks.

Shizuka wiped away the tears that were beginning to flow. "When Hiroto and I would talk about plans for the wedding, I had always hoped that Onii-chan would be the one to walk me down the aisle and give me away. After all, it's no longer possible for our father to do that."

Anzu looked like she had a few choice words to say about the older Jounouchi male, but refrained from doing so. Shizuka was grateful for the restraint because for all the things her father had done, he was still her father.

"And even though Onii-chan is back, it still feels like he's so far away."

"I know what you mean, Shizuka-chan."

...

"And then Sophie just flips out and turns around to punch the guy, but she completely misses and decks Nicholas Cage instead!"

The two of them was seated at what was once the gang's usual table at Burger World. Tears of laughter were streaming down from Honda's eyes as the man banged his fist on the tabletop, doubled over in laughter. Jounouchi reached up to brush away the stray tears that were beginning to fall from his own eyes.

"Oh God, Jounouchi, I can't wait to see your manager at more parties. The news around here would be so much more interesting." Honda somehow managed to put a hold to his laughter long enough to take a sip of his soda.

"You wouldn't say that if you had to deal with her." Jounouchi grumbled like a petulant child, dragging a french fry through a puddle of ketchup. "And enough about my sorry life with the she-devil. Why in the world are you working at a newspaper of all places?"

"My brother-in-law helped get me the job after graduation, he was college friends with the old City Desk editor. Hiroshi-san just kind of took me under his wing then and mentored me through the business."

Jounouchi whistled. "And now you're Mr. Editor. Pretty amazing considering how you were in high school."

The other man raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You're one to speak, Mr. Movie Star."

"Hey," he chucked a small piece of fry at the man across the table. "I was always charming and good looking. It just took everyone else a bit to realize it too."

Their conversation paused when both of them caught sight of the group of Domino High students that slid into the booth in front. A couple in the group unfortunately brought his thoughts back to the current state of the relationship between his sister and his friend.

"Have you talked to Shizuka since..." He wasn't sure how to finish the question. Was it a fight, albeit a huge one? The last word he wanted to use was "breakup."

Honda sighed loudly. "She's been avoiding me. You saw how she was at Mai's, but I'll get her to listen to me eventually."

That Jounouchi was sure of. He had watched Honda pursue his sister since they were 16 and if he hadn't given up in the subsequent years, Honda wasn't going to do so now. "I can try and get her to-"

He never got to finish his sentence when Honda just held up a hand and shook his head. "I want to do this on my own, Jounouchi. Don't you have your own problems to worry about?"

"Huh?"

"Like Mai and Kaiba?"

Jounouchi had been working very hard to forget that supposed love triangle between himself and the two former duelists. "I swear I will beat you to a bloody pulp if you're pumping me for a story."

Honda laughed. "I asking as a friend and I suspect that Kimiko has the story backwards."

He stared long and hard at the other man before asking, "And you are surprisingly okay with this turn of events?"

"I can't say I honestly get it." The other man confessed. "And I really don't want any details. But Kaiba's a good guy and he's helped Shizuka a lot over the years. He doesn't admit it... But your leaving hit him just as hard as anybody else."

Jounouchi did feel like a complete ass now. "I really made all of you worry, didn't I?"

The thing about leaving it was actually pretty easy once you get over your initial hesitations. The person leaving didn't have to deal with the fallout and the consequences of his own departure. It's always those left behind that are forced to pick up the pieces.

Honda's glare returned in full-force. "You sure as hell did. We had no idea if you were safe, if you had money, if you just on the street. Even Anzu was worried sick in New York, Yugi had to convince her to stay there. Your mom tried to file a missing person report, but the police wouldn't help because you left of your own free will. For the first few months, we thought you'd turn up at some point or that Kaiba would break down eventually and help us find you. Yugi kept playing in tournaments, hoping he'd catch you at one of them."

Jounouchi kept his deck with him over the years, but he hadn't played since leaving Domino. During his first year in Tokyo, he used to go and watch some of the local tournaments in fits of nostalgia, but had stopped when he thought he saw Yugi at one of them.

The other man continued. "But you never turned up and we all learned to move on. But we're glad to have you back, hopefully for good."

Jounouchi wanted to believe that the overwhelming guilt he felt now would eventually fade.

...

The package arrived via a courier on the morning of the Kaiba Corp Charity Ball, wrapped in brown packing paper with no send or return address. But Sophia knew its content as soon as she spotted the dragon tattoo peeking out from underneath sleeve of the courier's sport jacket. She quickly took the package and deposited it onto her bed in the hotel room. The courier continued to wait and held forth a clipboard with a delivery notice. She quickly gave her signature on the slip and shoved a thick roll of 10,000 yen bills into the other expectant hand. He gave her a toothy grin as he pocketed the cash and tipped his baseball cap, revealing a long and faded scar down his left temple.

"Good doing business with you."

She turned away in disgust and slammed the door. Her eyes automatically moved to the innocuous package sitting on top of the hotel's dark comforter. Her hands shook as she approached the bed.

This had been her choice to make.

She lowered herself onto the edge of the bed and placed the package in her lap. She tore away the brown paper and used her pocket knife to cut the packing tape. She steeled her nerves and opened the box. She had never been afraid of this and she wasn't going to start now.

A Glock 17 and a magazine of ammo laid side by side in a bed of packing peanuts. She brushed a hesitant hand over the cool gun metal and caress the smooth area where the serial number had been filed off. After all the second chances she had been given in life, she never thought she would come back to this given the choice. But here she was... Her hands moved with practice ease as she slipped the magazine into the receiver, listening for a familiar click as she recoiled the slide. She held the gun aloft and allowed the feel of it to wash over her. The gun was heavier than she remembered.

If the time came, there would be no turning back.

The memory of Matthew's last moments unwittingly came to mind. She pushed it down, including the sadness and the tears.

She would be ready. She wouldn't let the same thing happen to her Katsuya.

...

Jounouchi furrowed his brows, trying to figure out what was wrong with the scene before him. Never mind the fact of why Kaiba had even invited him in the first place (he hadn't, turned out Malik had passed the invitation along). The party was swank, not quite as swank as some of the Hollywood A-lister parties he had the honor of previously attending. But the atmosphere was relaxed, maybe even playful. When he first arrived with Sophia, it hadn't taken him long to spot Kaiba, and surprisingly enough, his friends as well.

They were standing by one of the tables covered with a spread of food. Bakura was just ever-so-slightly leaning his weight against Malik, but Jounouchi could still see their intertwined hands. Yugi seemed trapped between the conversation going on and trying to getting foods and drink for Anzu. He wasn't surprised Anzu had found a way to attend the charity ball even if she was as big as a house. He gathered his courage and moved closer.

"So bets on this year's fiasco." Malik declared.

"I don't know, but it can't possibly beat last year's." Honda was distracted though, always glancing toward the entrance as if waiting for someone.

Kaiba must have noticed too. "I gave her her invitation personally." Once upon a time, Kaiba probably had trouble remembering Honda's name five out of six times.

"She probably won't come, but thanks for the effort," Honda smiled a little.

Silence had fallen over the group.

"Oh, my favorite is the year Haga and Ryuusaki crashed the party," Anzu volunteered cheerfully, trying to dispel the tension as she always did. Yugi chuckled at the very mention of the two.

"That's good..." Bakura started. "But still not as good as the year Malik started."

"Ryou! I thought you were on my side!"

A rumble of laughter rose from the group and a sense of relief rolled off them, as if they had just exhaled a collective breath that was being held. The positioning of the group meant everyone could see everyone else and no one was left out of the circle, including Kaiba. Kaiba looked and acted as if he did belong, with no sign of the awkwardness that would have plagued everyone in their teenage years. With a pang of jealousy, Jounouchi realized that somewhere along the way and probably while he was gone, his friends had also become Kaiba's friends. He knew nothing of the topic they were talking so familiarly about. He felt like the outsider...

"You didn't really expect to come back after 11 years and find everything would be exactly the way you left it?" Sophia was often too perceptive for her own good.

He glared at her. It was her fault he was even here to begin with.

"Shut up, Sophie. I thought this was supposed to be my vacation." He grumbled, prepared to turn and go home for the evening. He was not so lucky though.

"Jounouchi-kun!" Yugi's eyes lit up like a child in a candy store.

Sophia placed a firm grip on his forearm and pulled him toward the group. There was no escaping now.

Kaiba's nostrils flared and his eyes darkened. "Why are you here?" His tone was belittling and insulting, making Jounouchi's anger bristle like he was 16 again.

"Gee, thanks Kaiba, that's a really warm welcome. I'm certainly going to donate tons to your cause now." Jounouchi knew sulking was immature. But by god, it was his prerogative tonight. "Do you treat all your guests this way?"

"Don't be like that, Kaiba." Malik gave the taller man a pat on the back. Working for the man must have bestowed Malik with immunity to the infamous Kaiba glare.

Yugi just laughed. "Come on, guys. Let's not fight. It's Kaiba-kun's big night, let's be a little more supportive."

...

As it turned out, Kaiba, or at least his company, knew how to throw a party. About an hour in, the games were brought out. But Kaiba being Kaiba, it quickly became like an exhibition hall. Jounouchi had to hand it to the CEO; this was probably one of the best ways to raise money for a children's charity. There was nothing like watching his friends in formal evening wear trying out Kaiba Corp's latest gaming products.

He glanced over at his glass of punch. The alcohol being served certainly didn't hurt either.

Jounouchi wondered where Sophie had gone. Then he remembered she had run off after some actor or other; whether it was poach him from his agency or just for the sake of chasing after the actor Jounouchi didn't know for sure.

He took another big gulp of the punch. The punch left a pleasant burning sensation in the pit of his stomach. He had even gotten the chance to try the new Duel Monsters MMORPG; and boy did it bring back memories.

A shadow fell over him and he dimly registered the fact that the other party-goers around him had swiftly moved away. Jounouchi recognized the length and shape of the shadow.

"Oh, it's you." He took another swig.

Kaiba was frowning, but how was that any different from usual? Jounouchi even swore he saw the other man's eye twitch.

"Before you get any ideas, I didn't invite you. It was all Ishtar's doing." Kaiba declared.

Jounouchi rolled his eyes. "Look Kaiba, I really don't care." He was not going to let the brunette ruin what had turned out to be a really fun night- even if Kaiba was responsible for putting it together in the first place.

"Just as long as we're clear." Kaiba grumbled, but didn't leave afterward.

They stood together in relative silence, drinking in the sight of the party-goers. After a while, Jounouchi turned to look at the other man instead. He realized this was the first time he had spent a prolonged period of time with the other man since he returned to Japan. Kaiba still resembled the Kaiba of his youth. In fact, Jounouchi was pretty sure he had changed more in terms of appearances. He took in the way the other man's soft bangs framed his deep blue eyes.

Unable to help himself, Jounouchi reached out to touch the hard jaw he remembered. When his fingers were just centimeter away from the jawline, Kaiba finally turned to meet his gaze. Jounouchi had almost forgotten how mesmerizing those deep blue eyes could be.

He could feel some unnamed resolve begin to crumble and quickly tore his gaze away. "So I see Princess Adina is still in the game. Mokuba must be happy about that. Where is he anyway?"

The edge of Kaiba's lips drew back in a near sneer. "Mokuba and I are not currently on speaking terms."

"Woah, what'd you do? Hit on Rebecca?" Jounouchi found himself falling back into old habits from a decade ago.

Kaiba turned suddenly, drawing himself to his full height. Why'd the damn man have to be so tall anyway? Jounouchi's brain was still a bit fuzzy and it took him more than a moment to realize that he had been backed into a shadowed alcove out of the view of the rest of the party. Suddenly he could feel the heat radiating from the other man's skin and the warm breath over his face. Kaiba had been drinking too.

A hand was placed by the side of his face. This would be a very compromising position if they were found. The other hand had moved to caress his cheek, and Jounouchi wasn't inclined to stop him either.

"My baby brother is having trouble accepting the nature of our relationship." Kaiba whispered as he closed the ever decreasing gap between them.

"What relationship?" Jounouchi found his hand reaching up entirely of its own will.

"Exactly." There was a tone of bitterness in the word, and Jounouchi would have none of that.

...

Every nerve in Kaiba's body went haywire when Jounouchi's lips met his. A small growl escaped as he gave into the lust that had been building all night. He would have never guessed Jounouchi could clean up so well. Jounouchi was not in the entertainment without good reason, still retaining most of his boyish charms from yesteryear approaching thirty. He pushed Jounouchi's body against the wall, hands frantically untucking the shirt to reveal a hard and lean stomach. The blond's hands tugged insistently at the nape of his hair. This was one victory Kujaku Mai wouldn't be taking from him any time soon.

"Kaiba."

He didn't think Jounouchi's could render him mindless with passion like this. Kaiba pulled back to observe the other man's face.

"Kaiba!" Jounouchi insisted.

"No, not here." He mumbled and dove in to nibble the abused lips. "I have a room upstairs for the night."

It shouldn't have been possible for Jounouchi's eyes to darken any further. "Now."

"You're going to be a bossy bottom aren't you?"

Jounouchi smirked and Kaiba's heart skipped a beat. "Who says I'm going to bottom?"

He was unable to suppress the groan that rose from his throat. His mind raced as he tried to calculate their best route of escape. There was a staff exit about five feet to their left, they might be able to slip out noticed there. Malik always kept a tight rein on the press regarding the charity ball; he had to after the incident three years ago. His absence might go noticed for at least an hour as his official duties of the night had been completed.

He would have been able to think more clearly if Jounouchi wasn't toying so insistently with his belt buckle. Kaiba swatted the playful hand away. "Stop that, I'm trying to think."

The blond's hand grabbed his tie instead, crinkling the silk material and pulling him closer once again. "Thinking is for suckers, Kaiba." And with those words, he pressed his lips against Kaiba's again.

After what seemed like another eternity, they finally broke apart for some air. Kaiba also suspected he was beginning to sober up as pesky thoughts that would not have otherwise surfaced, did so in full force. In all the years he had known Jounouchi, after all the things he had done for the blond, Jounouchi had always fought him tooth and nail over the subject of his professed feelings.

And this? This was just too easy...

"What about Kujaku?" He studied the blond's man face.

"Mai? Huh? What does she had to do with anything?" Confusion washed over the blond's features as he pressed himself ever closer to Kaiba.

Kaiba extracted himself from the other man's arms. What was he doing? Hadn't he been the one worrying about prying eyes and the higher stakes?

"Go." He ordered.

The rejection was evident on Jounouchi's face, but Kaiba refused to allow it to interfere with his better judgment. They just couldn't do this, not now- not before they've had a chance to clear the air between them. The blond looked back at him, looking lost and utterly kissable, before leaving the alcove altogether.

Kaiba remained there for what felt like an eternity. What could have driven him to such a loss of control? It must have been the stupid media frenzy whipped up in response to Yamato Kimiko's article. It was the only reason he spent the last few days following the media dribble that was well below him. But he hadn't been able to look away, not when they kept digging up more and more photos of Jounouchi and Kujaku together and inevitably leading his own thoughts to the wretched kiss that took place on his balcony. And there was also Kujaku's confident smile forever infuriating him to no end- as if she had already won and that he would be no more than a mere bump in the road to overcome.

He rubbed his face and sighed. Why was Jounouchi Katsuya always making a mess out of his life?

When he re-emerged into the ballroom, he immediately found himself searching for Jounouchi in the crowd. Had he been just a few years younger, he would have been entirely disgusted with his own actions. The blond was surrounded by his friends and close to falling asleep on Honda's shoulder. No one in the group looked none the wiser to what had happened. He was thankful for that small grace. The last thing he wanted to endure was the awkwardness of the group's silent but curious attention.

Jounouchi's manager spotted him though and came straight at him. Kaiba stood tall; he was no coward after all and running away was Jounouchi's specialty (admittedly that was low even for him).

"You," she pointed an accusing finger at him. "You of all people should know better!"

He sneered. "I hope you're not going to accuse me of taking advantage of him. He was more than willing."

She reached up to massage her temples. "I know that! But I refuse to weather a media storm for the two of yours drunken indiscretions! Both of you need to be properly sober if you're going to pull this shit. I won't stand for this half-assness!"

With that declaration, she turned on her heels and walked away. Kaiba was not stunned and don't you even dare think that...

...

Jounouchi leaned against the wall of the hotel lobby, waiting for Sophie to arrange their ride back to their own hotel. His head was still swimming; but whether it was from the alcohol or Kaiba's kisses, he still wasn't sure yet. Sophie had understandably been upset. If any of the reporters at the party had seen the two of them together...

"Jounouchi."

"Mokuba?"

The younger Kaiba was looking sharp in his custom tailored tuxedo with his longer black haired tied back in a ponytail. The younger man seemed to be appraising him.

Remembered what Kaiba had said about his strained relationship with his brother, Jounouchi straightened his posture. "Hey, kid. I didn't see you at the party earlier."

Mokuba shrugged. "I was avoiding you and Nii-sama."

He blinked. The kid was as blunt as ever. "Oh..."

"I like you, Jounouchi, you're a good guy even if you're kind of a dumbass most of the time."

"Uh, thanks." The Kaiba brothers were really fucked up when it came to talking about their feelings. Jounouchi was beginning to feel sorry for Rebecca.

Mokuba crossed his arms over his chest, looking every inch the adult he was. "But that's not good enough for my Nii-sama. I need to know what your intentions are."

Jounouchi glanced around the crowded hotel lobby. He wasn't the only party-goer who had decided it was time to call it a night. "Uh, Mokuba, this is kind of a really public venue to be talking about this."

The dark-haired man's nostrils flared and the dark expression he wore wiped out any lingering thoughts of whether Mokuba was really related to the human ice cube, Kaiba Seto. "What? Ashamed of the skeletons in the closet, Jounouchi?"

"What about your brother's company, huh? You of all people should know it's not that easy. And I thought you didn't approve."

Mokuba's glare softened a little. "I do know. Don't you think Nii-sama has the same concerns about your career? About your family? Even so, isn't my brother worth it?"

Jounouchi ran a hand through his slick gelled hair. Alcohol was going to be his downfall. It had been his father's after all. "Help me God because I think he might be."

Despite all the aggravation, all the fighting, all the stares and whispered comments... Kaiba has gotten under his skin in a way no other man or woman had ever.

"If it's any consolation, I think Nii-sama thought the same from the beginning. I should know, I've been with him forever." Mokuba looked sad, as if he was on the verge of losing something precious.

He laughed softly. "Kaiba should be happy with the kind of man you've grown up to be."

"I'm slowly getting there." Mokuba muttered before he walked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1) I am having a really hard time trying to recall when Kaiba and Mai have ever directly interacted in the anime or manga.


	9. Track 8- Gone to California

_The ride back to Domino City from Alcatraz Island had been both excruciating and slow. Within an hour after the final duel of my Battle City tournament, I was already dealing with the collateral damage, for lack of any better term. For once I cursed my own ego, the live broadcast of the finals had perhaps not been my brightest idea. I had just been so eager to show the world my triumphant return and my long-deserved victory against Mutou Yugi. But now people were concerned about the safety of my Duel Disk system. The television broadcast had been cut immediately after the accident with Jounouchi, but the feed continued live on the web and the rest of the world had continued to watch._

_To add insult to injury, some even had the nerve to say that the entire final had been staged for publicity._

_My head throbbed in anticipation of an oncoming migraine as I cursed every single other person on my Battle Ship. The original plan for our return to Domino had been the closing ceremony and the party Mokuba had insisted upon afterward to celebrate all the duelists that had participated. The press would still be there when they landed, just armed by an entirely different arsenal of questions. Instead I had to arrange for paramedics to meet us at the landing site to whisk us all away to the hospital for extensive testing. I would then toss the results in the press' face, proving once and for all there was nothing wrong with my Duel Disks._

_In a world where I was in complete control like I had felt I deserved to be, none of this would have happened._

_But my world wasn't perfect, not while it was still filled with the likes of Yugi, Jounouchi, and Malik forever ruining my best laid plans._

_Dinner that night aboard my Battle Ship was a quiet and maybe even somber affair. I may not have liked most of the other duelists, but I would fulfill my duty as the tournament host. It'd be a cold day in hell before I allowed my company's reputation to suffer further after that day's fiasco. From my seat at the head of the long table, I studied the tired features of the other teenagers and their guests. Mokuba was seated to my right, a place of honor reserved for him alone as my brother and the commissioner of the tournament. Yugi, the champion, was seated to my immediate left and the others had filled in the rest of the seats accordingly. For two sides that were on the verge of supposedly killing each other just hours ago, Yugi and his cheerleaders were getting on well with the Ishtars despite the palpable tension in the air. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, Yugi had always been far too forgiving for his own good- a fact that has not changed one bit in the years since Battle City._

_I did my best to ignore the ancient Egypt nonsense that was being discussed at the table. But as it became quickly apparent that it was not a conversation that Shizuka, Kujaku Mai, or Bakura Ryou could readily participate in, talk turned in the direction of people's plans after the tournament. All three of the Ishtar family were returning to Egypt with promises from Malik that the Ghoul organization would be disbanded._

_"What about you, Mai-san?" Anzu asked._

_Kujaku paused in the middle of her banter with Jounouchi, chasing a stray pea across her plate. Tossing her hair back, she smiled at the occupants of the table. "I'm going to hit the road again. There are still so many other duelists out there to challenge."_

_"Good riddance." I muttered lowly._

_Jounouchi's apparent disappointment wasn't helping my mood either. "You're not staying a while longer?"_

_I was fortunately spared any further sentimentality when Mokuba made his own announcement. My little brother had been bouncing with excitement since we first made the decision hours ago. I wasn't surprised he could no longer keep it to just himself. "Nii-sama and I are going to America!"_

_A hush fell over the table and all eyes were on me. I felt a flash of pride after seeing that news of my departure imparted far more emotional weight overall than Kujaku's. It was petty, but I would take all my victories- no matter how big or small. I found my gaze moving down the length of the table to focus on Jounouchi's face. Catching glimpses of both panic and fear, I quickly returned my attention to my beaming brother instead. I wouldn't allow myself any false hope that night._

_Yugi broke the silence first. "How long will you be gone for, Kaiba-kun?"_

_"A year at most." I answered after a few seconds of consideration. There would be no harm in telling them._

_Shizuka's attention volleyed back and forth between her brother and me. "That's a long time..."_

_"Nii-sama and I are going to make our dream a reality. We're going to open KaibaLands all over the world, starting with America." Mokuba's smile beamed with the force of three suns._

_I allowed myself a rare and soft smile, one directed solely at the boy despite the presence of others in the room. I would fulfill my promises to Mokuba. I owed him at least that much after how he had stood by me all those years, almost never questioning me or wavering in his faith of me. Truthfully, I wanted to get away after the events of the past few days. I needed the time to regroup and re-evaluate. I had come to realize and accept the truth Yami gave to me: that there was no future in the hatred I had clung so dearly to over the years. Perhaps it was something I had known and denied for a long time; the Red Lady had gifted it to me first, Yami had reminded me, Mokuba had drilled it in, and Jounouchi..._

_No, I would try and leave that all behind with the ashes of Gozaburo and the destruction of Duel Tower to make the future Mokuba and I had originally set forth to accomplish._

_The rest of dinner progressed without any further disruptions or surprises. But when I looked down at the plate before me, I would often feel the weight of what I was sure was Jounouchi's gaze on me. The other boy was always looking anywhere but at me when I did look up. Instead I attributed the phenomenon as the product of my sleep-deprived mind. The group quickly disbanded after dinner with everyone mostly headed back to their rooms to get some rest before landing in another hour. Mokuba abandoned me in favor of the control room in order to start completing the paperwork and other tasks we would need to do before going to America._

_The halls of the Battle Ship was as quiet as a graveyard with only the sound of my own footsteps to accompany my passage. When I passed some doors, I could almost hear the voices of the occupants within if I strained hard enough. Soon, I heard a separate set of footfall- erratic and fast-paced- closing in behind me._

_"Kaiba, wait a second."_

_I turned slowly to face Jounouchi, unsure of what the universe was going to throw at me next. The blond's chest heaved up and down, struggling to catch a breath after his stint down the halls._

_"What do you want, Jounouchi?" I only allowed myself to speak his name in private like this- away from the prying eyes of his friends. To this day, I still wonder how much Yugi and the others knew about my situation with Jounouchi back then._

_"How soon before you leave?"_

_"As soon as all the paperwork is in order and we finish tying together loose ends at Kaiba Corp."_

_His gaze hardened with determination. "Duel me, Kaiba. We still have to determine third and fourth place."_

_I smirked. "I hardly think that'd be contest between you and me." It wasn't a refusal though._

_"Then you have nothing to lose." He returned the cocky grin, brandishing his Duel Disk like a warrior would his sword._

_In that instant, I realized that the road that now laid before me was the one Jounouchi was traveling down. Both of our "fathers" have left their indelible marks on our lives and psyche to be overcome but never to be erased. I, too, would need to learn to walk that road with his determination for Mokuba's and my own sake. He could have taught me how, but I needed to learn on my own._

...

Jounouchi wasn't surprised to find Sophie already waiting for him when he emerged from his second morning shower the day after the party. He was just grateful she didn't start yelling at him immediately and had just handed him a glass of water and a handful of vitamins to chase away his hangover.

"So here to give me hell about last night?" He asked.

Had it not been for the alcohol last night, he would have been up all night replaying the scene over and over in his head. Thankfully, he was a light-weight drinker and had fallen asleep in the cab halfway back to the hotel. But a headache and the vague memories of hands, tongue, lips, and another body's heat were still there and waiting for him when he rose with the sun that morning, feeling parched and horny. It was the most uncomfortable feeling in the world. He only hoped Kaiba was having a million times harder time dealing with last night's event.

Stupid Kaiba. Stupid Kaiba and his sexy good looks. Stupid Kaiba and his open-bar parties. So deep in his thoughts, he almost didn't hear Sophie's eventual reply.

"Katsuya, last night can never happen again."

Jounouchi nearly dropped the glass. Unsure of how to respond to her demand, he just gaped at her instead. As much as he loved his friends and family, the one person he thought he could always count on to have his back was Sophie. And the way she had spoken, in a tone he had never heard from her before... It was not a warning or a request; it was a command. Jounouchi Katsuya took commands from no one, short of a mystical brain washing.

A short bark of bitter laughter escaped him. "Isn't this what you wanted? You were always pushing me in his direction. Don't you dare tell me how to live my life-"

"I can and I will." She snapped. "I'm your manager and that's exactly what I do: manage your life! And if only you would calm down and stop thinking with that little head down there, you would also see that last night could have been the biggest mistake of your life!"

Jounouchi couldn't think of a time where he had felt this enraged before, and certainly not at Sophie. He couldn't understand why she had turned on him. Not to mention, her timing was absolute crap. As much as it pained him to admit it and he had admitted it, Jounouchi wanted Kaiba Seto. Had this been about any other person, he might have stopped long enough for contemplate the reasons behind her words. Sophie always did things for his sole benefit- her methods of execution not withstanding. But when it came to Kaiba Seto, Jounouchi was more than willing to throw reason out the door first.

"You have no right, Sophie. Now get out of my room before I fire you!" He roared as the frustration of the last weeks came pouring out.

She took a step back as fear briefly flashed over her face. "Listen to me, what do you think would have happened this morning if you two had slept together? Do you think he would make you breakfast in bed or something? No, he would have felt used!"

Jounouchi reeled back. The truth in her words might have been a slap in the face. His blood ran cold with the mere thought of Kaiba's rejection. Sophie's warm hands cupped his chin and forced him to meet her gaze.

"Katsuya, please believe me when I say that a drunken one-night stand is not the stable foundation to a lasting relationship. I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Kaiba last night, I am more than willing to stand with you, but you have to be sure that this is what you really want wholeheartedly and this needs to be a decision you both make while sober. There is a right way and a wrong way to go about this." Her words were firm as if willing them to sink in.

"Excuse me?"

"You have to remember, the two of you aren't people that no one will take notice of if you come together. You're somebody and Kaiba's somebody. If we mishandle this, this isn't just going to blow up in your faces. There are people that rely on each of you, Kaiba has his company and his employees to worry about, and your actions can affect your co-stars and the movie premiere."

Jounouchi sank down onto the bed, numb with the realization at how completely he could have screwed things up. Sophie was right. If they had been caught last night, he could have been dealing with far worse than a hangover this morning. But he hadn't screwed up completely just yet, at least no more than what he had done years ago. When he looked up at the woman, she echoed out loud what he was thinking in his head.

"You still have a chance. We'll work it out." She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

...

As Kaiba descended the staircase to eat breakfast, he made a mental note to send Malik a memo that open bars were banned from Kaiba Corporation functions until further notice. His head throbbed with each step he took, mocking him for every poor decision and moment of weakness from the previous night.

Upon entering the smaller dining room attached to the kitchen, he looked up at the clock hanging on the wall. The time read a quarter before nine. The conversation between his brother and Rebecca at the dining table came to a sudden halt with his entrance. Both of them stared at him as if he had grown a second head or a Blue Eyes White Dragon had followed him into the room.

"You just woke up!" Mokuba's wide eyes bounced between Kaiba and the clock. "But it's nearly 9 in the morning!"

Apparently all he needed to do to get his brother talking to him after coming out of the closet was wake up two hours later than usual.

"That must have been some party yesterday." Rebecca glanced over the glass of orange juice raised to her lips.

As he sat down at the table, he looked his brother straight in the eye for the first time in weeks. Mokuba quickly broke their shared gaze to look back down at his plate of eggs and bacon, finally remembering he was supposed to be ignoring his older brother. Kaiba snorted. He was determined not to feel sorry for himself, especially if Mokuba was going to insist on acting like a brat. A maid appeared at his elbow asking if he wanted a Japanese or Western-style breakfast.

"Go with Western. Kobayashi-san made these delicious strawberry-stuffed french toast." Rebecca raised the piece of french toast drenched in syrup for his examination. The sight alone made his teeth ache.

He wrinkled his nose before turning to the maid. "Japanese."

"Killjoy." She mumbled.

Mokuba remained quiet as he finished his breakfast, but at least he didn't leave the room as he often did in the recent past. Kaiba took the morning as an encouraging sign of things to come.

...

Kaiba heard a chime from his computer, indicating the arrival of a new email. He glanced briefly at the little toolbox hovering over his taskbar. It was from Malik and the subject simply titled: Turn to channel 21 now.

"Television, channel 21, volume 20." He barked and the screen on the wall opposite his desk came to life.

But he nearly fell out of his chair when the close-up of Jounouchi's grinning face popped up. The camera eventually panned out to show the blond sitting on a brightly pastel-colored set with another man and woman, who must be the hosts of the show. For a brief moment, Kaiba considered turning the show off, but his curiosity got the better of him. He had neither seen nor heard from the blond man since the charity ball three days ago. The increasing workload as opening day of the KaibaLand USA East Coast park approached kept him too busy to be offended or concerned with the lack of contact- until now. He pulled up a new window to begin composing a scathing email to his PR department.

"And we're back with our first guest of the hour, our hometown heartthrob- Joey Katsuya." The female host squealed and her excitement was quickly echoed by the audience members off-screen.

The camera quickly focused on the blond man who winked at the audience, eliciting further screams of ecstasy. Kaiba's fingers paused over his keyboard, taking in Jounouchi's relaxed pose and cocky grin. This was the unreasonably self-assured third-rate duelist he had known in his youth grown up into a devastatingly handsome man that could make even Kaiba Seto insecure with rare moments of weakness. The Jounouchi on screen crossed his legs clad in a pair tight-fitting black slacks, while one hand smoothed out an invisible wrinkle in the burgundy shirt under his leather jacket. Kaiba smiled in spite of himself, feeling smug for having noticed the nervousness betrayed by Jounouchi's unconscious gesture.

"I'm really happy to be here today, Miho-chan, Hiiro-kun."

The lavender-haired woman leaned forward in her seat at the sound of her name. "You've been in the news a lot lately, not the least of all being the revelation about your birth name. I imagine there's a lot of people out there wondering why you decided to abandon your old name upon entering show business. Is that a story you would be willing to share with us today?"

"It's a pretty straight-forward reason." Jounouchi gave another cocky grin. "Americans had a hard time pronouncing my full name."

A low laughter rumbled through the studio.

The blond entertainer continued. "And I wanted to make it on my own merit and not because of any baggage that may be attached to the name Jounouchi Katsuya."

The male host, Hiiro, jumped in at this point. "You are, of course, referring to your dueling career in the competitive Duel Monsters circuit. You were the in the top four for Duelist Kingdom, Battle City, and in the top eight for the KC Grand Prix tournament. Not to mention, you had managed to do that without coming up through any of the local tournament plays. You could have easily leveraged the fame from that to jump-start a career in the entertainment business."

"Exactly, and I needed to make sure it was all me." The blond's smile appeared less genuine at the mention of Duel Monsters.

"Do you still duel, Joey-san?"

"Nah, although coming home has reminded me about all the things I missed about Domino City. I wouldn't be surprised if I did break out my old deck soon, but the kids these days would probably run circles around me."

Miho giggled. "I don't know about that. In a recent interview, Pegasus J. Crawford named you as the third greatest duelist in Duel Monsters history."

Jounouchi's laugh was a rich and uplifting sound. "Really? I didn't think he'd still remember me, and I'm guessing Mutou Yugi and Kaiba Seto are first and second?"

Unable to help himself, he glared at the blond on screen for naming him as second to Yugi, even if it was the truth.

"Bingo!" Hiiro chimed. "We have a little game prepared today if you wouldn't mind playing along, Joey-san. For all the Duel Monsters fans out there, consider this a history lesson on the heyday of the game." A piece of the set behind them moved back to reveal a large LCD screen displaying three face-down cards.

"No problem." Jounouchi replied in English and gave a thumbs-up.

"We're going to show you three cards from the decks of some of the world's top duelists from 13 years ago. Based on those cards, name the duelist that would have played them and during which tournament. The first set should be easy." Hiiro explained.

"Oh, this should be fun." Jounouchi began laughing again as the first card was virtually flipped over to reveal "Baby Dragon," then followed by "Time Wizard." "Oh, that's my deck from Duelist Kingdom."

"Correct!" Miho cheered and the audience shrieked in approval.

Three more face-down cards replaced the previous set on the screen. By the second card, the "Magician of Black Chaos," Jounouchi had his answer: "Oh, Yugi's deck, also from Duelist Kingdom."

"Correct again! You have a pretty good memory for this, Joey-san."

"Dueling used to be a big part of my life." Jounouchi smiled ruefully.

Kaiba had long abandoned his email in favor of the television show instead. He too had been caught up in this little game the hosts had prepared, though to his dismay, he wasn't doing anywhere as good as the blond on screen. The third set, supposedly belonging to one Espa Roba, stirred no recollection in Kaiba. The fourth set, belonging to Siegfried von Schroider, caused both Jounouchi and him to scowl in unison. Neither did he recognize the fifth set of cards, which included "Amazoness Archers," "Dramatic Rescue," and "Elegant Egotist." Jounouchi was staring at the cards though and Kaiba could see the recognition on the other man's face.

Kaiba's day immediately took a turn for the worse when the words "Kujaku Mai" fell from Jounouchi's lips.

"Is there any truth to the rumors about you and Mai-san? Because that would break a lot of women's hearts out there."

Kaiba wanted to shoot the purple-haired woman for bringing up the subject on television. Jounouchi on-screen hesitated for barely a second before plastering on a fake yet charming smile. "Mai and I are just friends. It was nice to see her again after all these years."

Perhaps sensing they weren't going to get any further information out of the actor, the two hosts moved onto the next set of cards instead. The first card, "Vorse Raider," caused Jounouchi's smile to briefly falter but Kaiba knew what he saw. The second card was "Shrink" and Kaiba realized he was leaning forward in his seat in anticipation. The third card was revealed to be the "Crush Card Virus" trap card and Jounouchi shook his head.

"That would be Kaiba Seto's deck from Battle City."

At the sound of his own name, all the tension drained from his body, but the ache in his heart returned in full-force. Tried as he did to convince himself otherwise, he missed Jounouchi terribly and he was getting tired of waiting for the blond to respond. As the show went to commercials, Kaiba muttered, "Television off." If he wanted to watch the rest of the interview, he could easily ask Malik to obtain it for him. He sat back, allowing the silence of the office to settle around him like an oppressive cloak. After trying so hard not to think about the blond actor or their last encounter over the last three days, Kaiba couldn't stop now.

Sighing, he pulled up his internet browser and typed "Joey Katsuya" into the Google search bar. He spent the rest of the morning browsing through the results the search engine retrieved for him.

Around 12:30 PM, Kaiba's office door swung open and close without any greeting. Only three people dared to walk into his office without announcing themselves- one of whom he wasn't currently on speaking terms with. On second thought, there were a number of people in his life who probably wouldn't do him the courtesy, especially when given the right circumstance. If only his life was as easy to clean house as his company.

"Hard at work as always, President." A cup of coffee appeared in his line of vision. "I figured you could use some coffee, just the way you like it. Extra cream and extra sugar."

The aroma of the drink called to him, beckoning him with tendrils of steam. His penchant for all-nighters was not doing him any favors nowadays. The bone aching lethargy on the following days just reminded him he was no longer as young as he used to be. He took the mug, almost sighing as the warmth brought feeling back into his cold fingers. He even felt human again after the first couple of sips.

"Shouldn't you be having lunch with Mokuba?" He looked up at his brother's girlfriend.

"I'm supposed to, but his meeting's running over. I thought I'd come see how you were doing."

"How is he?" When she sat down on the corner of his desk, he tried glaring at her to no avail.

"Same as usual. I think he's starting to feel guilty though, for all the things he said to you. He even spoke to you at breakfast the other day. It would help a little if you- I don't know-didn't enable him by taking part in this passive-aggressive behavior?"

Kaiba simply grunted in reply.

"You Kaibas always have to make things so bloody complicated. You're nothing like my Darling, he's always easy to understand," she sighed. "So noble and brave..."

"You talk like that and wonder why I first disapproved of your relationship with my brother." He muttered.

She shot him a glare. "Hey, just because Yugi never felt that way about me doesn't change the fact he was my first love. For most human beings, that's something worth remembering. Besides, you never stopped us. You never stood in my or Mokuba's way."

"My initial disapproval not withstanding, it was Mokuba's choice to make, and yours. I just wanted to make sure he thought those choices through."

She sighed, twirling a springy lock of blond hair around her finger. "Now if only your brother would think like that. I invited Jounouchi to the baby shower by the way."

"That doesn't mean he's going to go." Kaiba's scowl deepened as he read the same line on his computer screen for the fourth time. None of the words could penetrate the thick fog that developed around his mind whenever Jounouchi became a topic of conversation. He glanced over at his second monitor where the browser was open to a fansite dedicated to Jounouchi. He moved his mouse cursor to the second desktop and closed the window. He had already wasted enough of the workday on the blond.

"I contacted his manager directly and she promised he would be there, besides it's Yugi and Anzu's baby shower. And if I know anything about Jounouchi, nothing short of the apocalypse would stop him."

He bit his tongue to keep from retorting. True the blond man would do anything for Yugi, but so would he for Shizuka, Anzu, Honda, Kujaku, and the list went on and on. Jounouchi always needed to play the hero...

She swung around and leaned over his desk until they were face to face. "And you're still going right?"

In retrospect, he realized his first objections to her shouldn't have been her past history with Yugi. No, the problem with Rebecca Hopkins was she was one of those rare people that were completely unafraid of him. She didn't need money, so there was no bribing her either. Short of doing actual harm to her (and he didn't really have reason or want to), he held no power over her. And that always proved difficult when in direct confrontation with her- like now.

Kaiba glanced over at the large box containing the gift he had ordered from America instead. Mokuba had been the one to pick out the gift in the first place. It was originally meant to be from the two brothers to Yugi's first child. It was large and stupidly expensive for a baby, and he was going to feel like an idiot giving it to the expecting couple. "You'd never let me hear the end of it otherwise."

She nodded, as if assured he would keep his word. Then she frowned. "Shizuka invited that Mai person though. I couldn't think of any good reason to exclude her."

"And why would you do that?"

"I never really liked her as a kid, she seemed kinda like a bitch. And I'm obviously rooting for you. If only there was some way to make her miss the baby shower..."

Though he would never say it aloud nor did he need it, it was nice having someone believe in him. He really was growing sentimental with his age...

Rebecca clapped her hands together suddenly. "I know! Maybe we can have one of your bodyguards lock her in a closet for a few hours or something."

In the past two years, Kaiba had also learned that Rebecca had some truly absurd notions of what constituted acceptable boundaries. It must be a result of having been an entitled child genius, much like Mokuba or himself even.

She was oblivious to his thoughts as she continued brainstorming. "Or maybe someone can slash all her ties? No, then she just be late, wouldn't miss the party. Oh, maybe I can program her store security to go into lock-down." Her blue eyes were gleaming with mischief.

"And if she's not in the store?" He pointed out.

"I don't see you coming up with better ideas." She pouted. "In case you haven't noticed, she's winning. The entire world thinks you and Jounouchi are fighting over her. She's even kissed him already!"

"You were a lonely only child, weren't you?" Kaiba snorted. It was the only reason she liked to meddle so much.

"Well, yeah. That's besides the point. You're not going to let her beat you, are you Kaiba-shachou?"

Hearing her words, Kaiba felt a familiar ire rising from the pit of his gut. It was the very same feeling when Kujaku had confronted him at the store opening.

"The only way to win the game is to play it." She smirked, knowing full well that her words had hit a chord.

Of course, she was right...

...

"Kaiba Mokuba," Rebecca placed her hands on her hips and glared at him. "We are all taking the same car to the baby shower, end of story!"

Mokuba tried his best to return his girlfriend's glare, but failed miserably. Here he thought having lived so many years with his brother, some of that potent death glaring would have rubbed off on him. Right, his brother was the reason for their current stand-off.

She continued. "Do you have any idea what it's been like here in the mansion with you two? As soon as one of you sees the other, you just turn right back around and head in the other direction. What are we? Kindergartners? Kindergartners are more mature than this passive-aggressive stuff! If you two don't work this out like adults soon, I'm taking the first flight back to Cambridge!"

The thought of her returning to Britain sent him into a panic. It had taken so much work to convince her to spend some time this summer in Japan. It was already hard enough tearing her away from her research. "Becky, sweetie, please don't do that." He pleaded.

Her expression softened a bit. "Then please don't make such a big deal about being in the same car as your brother. You can't avoid him forever. You live and work with him for god's sake."

Mokuba didn't need her to remind him that. Over the last three weeks since his initial outburst at his brother, he spent more than half of his waking hours just avoiding the man. He had rearranged his entire workday and meeting schedule to avoid running into Seto. He took Rebecca out on the town every moment he was able to take her away from her research. They hadn't spent a quiet evening at home in many, many days.

"And people around the company are starting to talk. Are you really ready to throw away everything you and your brother have worked so hard for?" She poked a sharp fingertip against his chest.

His conversation with Jounouchi at the party weighed heavily on his mind. As much as he tried to tell himself, he was still mad at his brother. But with each passing day, he realized he was only trying to lie and deceive himself. The original argument they had fallen out over no longer mattered. Jounouchi was a good man and if his brother wanted... No, he didn't know how to close the distance he had imposed and didn't know if he could take back the words both said and unsaid. He couldn't remember the last time he had been this scared. For his entire childhood and most of his teenage years, Seto had been the biggest part of large yet limited world. He had been a willful child and his brother had given him everything he wanted. As it turned out, he was still equally willful as an adult.

"How do you apologize for hurting someone who was your whole world?" His voice cracked toward the end of his sentence.

And what if Seto didn't forgive him?

Her expression softened just a tiny bit. "Do what the rest of us mere mortals do, say 'I'm sorry'."

...

Jounouchi's cell phone trilled, announcing the arrival of a text message.

_I've been dodging reporters all day. How about you? I'll see you at the shower. -Mai_

He didn't know how Mai got his phone number. He might have suspected it was his manager's fault, but he already knew whom she favored in the so-called "race for his heart."

"Kujaku Mai again, huh?" Sophie asked, flexing her fingers over the steering wheel.

They had stopped at a red light. He tore his gaze away from the woman to stare at the streets beyond the tinted windows. Sophie had to rent the car today to throw off the scent for the reporters that were now pursuing them with renewed fervor after the article in Domino Times. The tabloid reporters had been particularly persistent so far; trying to pass themselves off as hotel staff to do everything from breaking into his room (not successfully so far, but two attempts had been made) to going through his trash and dirty linen after housekeeping had come through.

"Do you have a problem with that?" Feeling unusually rebellious, he chose to ignore her question.

She peeked at him out of the corner of her eyes. "Of course not, I like Kujaku Mai well enough. The important question is what about you?"

"We're..." He paused, not sure of how to characterize their current relationship. "Just catching up."

"I just noticed she's been texting you a lot lately. And well, it's of interest to me both professionally and personally. You'll let me know if I should be preparing some sort of statement for the press right?"

Jounouchi just nodded. After passing another three blocks in silence, they pulled up in front of an expensive looking high-rise. He double-checked the email he got from Rebecca earlier. This was the address she had sent and it looked like the party was somewhere at the top of the building. Sophie was watching him quietly again- something she was doing more and more often these days.

"Are you sure you don't want to come up?" He asked. The invitation had been extended to the Chinese woman as well.

"No, I'd be out of place. A baby shower's for close friends and family." She smiled softly, reaching out to tousle his hair.

He ducked under her hand and slid out the passenger-side door with his gift in hand. "You'll be back to pick me up?"

Her smile became tight and forced again. "Just make sure you don't go anywhere without me." Her tone was firm.

"Jounouchi, you made it!"

In that instant he turned to see who had called him, Sophie was already halfway down the block and on her way to God knows where. He just hoped she would be more careful about her driving.

Rebecca waved as she jumped out of the the car. Jounouchi took the chance to admire the sleek body of the black car instead. It was an Aston Martin, which was a rare enough sight as it was, but how the hell did Rebecca make enough to afford one? It was at that point that Mokuba emerged from the driver's side of the car.

"Mokuba." Jounouchi called, smiling awkwardly as he recalled their last conversation.

Mokuba gave him a strangely blank look, but at least it wasn't hostile. He immediately looked at Rebecca instead and said, "Becky, could you get the doorman to help me with the gift? I'll come up after I park the car in the garage."

The blond woman nodded and grabbed his arm instead, pulling him inside the building. Mokuba was staring at the pavement when he looked back.

The doorman jumped to attention as soon as he saw Rebecca. "Is there something I can do for you, miss?"

"Mokuba needs you to bring a package up to apartment 3004."

Without pause, she continued to guide him through the lobby and into the elevator. Rebecca pressed the button labeled "30" and they watched in silence as the numbers counted up. Around floor 14, the silence, something he had never dealt too well with, became too much.

"So where's Kaiba?"

"He has work. He's going to be late."

He almost laughed at the sight of her pout. It almost made her look 13 again.

"What have you been up to all these years?"

She tossed her hair over her shoulder. "I'm a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Cambridge for my second PhD."

"One wasn't enough?" If he had been drinking water, he would have done a spit take there.

"Seto says I'm wasting time, that I would be making much more in industry. He's been trying to recruit me into Kaiba Corporation ever since I completed my undergrad. I'm still trying to convince him to this day that it's not all about the money."

"Are you planning to teach?"

They were more than halfway to their destination.

"If anyone would hire me..." She sounded bitter.

"But you have two PhDs!"

"At my age now, most professors were still on the first year of their doctoral study. You don't get very far in the selection process when you're about the same age as most of their students."

He supposed she had a point there.

The elevator chimed, announcing their ascent to the 30th floor. He followed her down the hallway. She didn't bother knocking, instead turning the doorknob and opening the door to reveal a beautifully furnished condo that rivaled any number of the lofts Jounouchi had seen in LA. There were already a number of people in the apartment, mostly women.

"Rebecca! Onii-chan!" Shizuka appeared suddenly and latched onto the other woman's arm. "There's a problem with the cake."

"Sorry, Jounouchi, you're going to have to entertain yourself in the meanwhile!" Rebecca waved as she was dragged into the kitchen.

With the departure of his escort, several of the women immediately descended upon him.

"Oh my god, aren't you Joey Katsuya?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Can I have your autograph?"

He looked desperately to the living room where he could see Yugi and Anzu sitting with Bakura and Malik. His four so-called "friends" caught his gaze and just started laughing instead. He shook a fist at the group and swore to get them back later.

The novelty of his attendance wore off quickly though. A number of the women at the party were Anzu's coworker from the dance studio and dancers from the local Domino ballet company. While a few asked for his autograph, all of them understood he was there was a friend of Yugi and Anzu and were more than willing to treat him so. Rebecca and Shizuka were both busy with last minute arrangements of the party with Honda ever close at hand and always offering to help. Jounouchi took it as a sign in the right direction that the two were even willing to be in the same room again. He didn't think his sister could stay mad at Honda forever. Mai was nowhere to be seen though.

And every time he would look to the front door when he heard new arrivals, he had to remind himself he was not looking for Kaiba either...

...

As soon as Kaiba entered the apartment, Mokuba grabbed his arm and said, "Can we talk?"

Kaiba tried to let neither his surprise nor his suspicion show. His brother shifted nervously from one foot to the other, but his body language was open. He quickly scanned the apartment in search of a specific blond man. Jounouchi was engage in conversation with Bakura and Malik, and seemed completely unaware of Kaiba's arrival.

"Let's talk out on the patio then."

The patio deck was more of a glorified balcony, but a party of ten could have fit comfortably there. There was no one but them with only the sound of the wind blowing through the surrounding buildings to accompany them. Mokuba slid the door close behind them, muffling the sound coming from the party in the apartment.

"Thank you for letting Rebecca use the flat, it means a lot to her to do this for Yugi and Anzu." His brother blurted out immediately.

Kaiba nodded silently. He leaned against the railing of the deck, gripping the steel tightly. A slight breeze rustled through his hair as he contemplated where this conversation was headed. He wasn't going to lie, he was ecstatic that Mokuba was willingly speaking to him again, but there was no denying the nervousness that racked his body. His muscles tensed in that familiar anticipation of fight or flight.

"Is that all?" The tone of his words came out harsher than he had meant.

He sensed the other man tensed in response, but Mokuba didn't move away.

"I'm sorry."

The apology lifted a weight from Kaiba's shoulder that he hadn't even noticed was there before. He turned to face his brother, heart melting at the sight of the tears welling in Mokuba's eyes. He recognized the emotion in Mokuba's eyes- a fear of rejection.

The words came pouring out of his brother's mouth. "I'm sorry I said all those things. I was angry at the time but that's still no excuse. I don't care if you're gay or bi or whatever. And I'm sorry I gave you the silent treatment for weeks. I do want you to be happy, Nii-sama, even if it's with Jounouchi. I'm so sorry. It was stupid and immature of it, but I think I was afraid of losing you somehow, that I didn't want to share you with anyone."

Kaiba gave the boy a faint smile. Mokuba really was his little brother. Though it may seem petty to some, Kaiba had similar feelings regarding Mokuba and other people; first with Mokuba running around with Yugi's crowd and more recently his brother's relationship with Rebecca. Kaibas didn't like sharing- an unfortunate quirk they had both picked up from Kaiba Gozaburo. In retrospect, it was a quality he should have worked to correct in Mokuba as a child. One overbearing and overly possessive Kaiba was already more than the world can handle. But there was many things he should have done for Mokuba when he raised the boy.

Placing a hand on his brother's head, he gave an affection rub and said, "Mokuba, you'll always be my baby brother no matter what."

It wasn't all Mokuba's fault. As Rebecca had pointed out, he had enabled his brother's behavior in his own selfish way. Kaiba Seto didn't know how to say sorry. He had Malik and an entire department to do that for him. But if he was going to learn for anyone, it would be for his little brother.

...

Jounouchi got up and excused himself. It was an hour into the party and Mai had yet to make her appearance. He told himself he was being ridiculous, but he could help but worry that something had happened. He decided to send her a text: _Where are you?_

Within a minute, he received a reply: _I'm not coming. Something happened at the store._ A scowling emoji stared up at him at the end of the message.

_What happened?_

_Ask Kaiba yourself._

Jounouchi just stared at the screen of his cellphone for a few moments, wondering what in the hell Kaiba Seto could have done to Mai. His stomach twisted uncomfortably; it was a feeling he hadn't felt in years. He looked up to search the apartment to see if Kaiba had arrived yet.

For better or for worse, he spotted Kaiba huddled over the food table with Rebecca. They appeared to be deep in conversation and judging from the scowl on his face, he was not happy about what was being discussed. Jounouchi watched as Rebecca elbowed the man to direct attention to Jounouchi.

His traitorous mind and body immediately recalled the hazy events of the charity ball. Under Kaiba's unwavering gaze, his cock twitched with a spike of arousal. With a few deep breaths, he managed to will the inappropriate reaction away. He squared his shoulders and made his way across the room to the pair. He was not going to start being afraid of Kaiba Seto now.

"What'd you do to Mai?" He demanded.

At the sound of his voice, Kaiba turned around to lean back against the island in the middle of the large and modern kitchen. From his dress, it was obvious Kaiba had come to the party straight from the office. The CEO just raised an eyebrow in response to the question- perhaps this was his attempt to look innocent."I just sent her a little gift wishing her the best in her business endeavors."

Jounouchi blinked, taking a few moments to process the actual words. He had been too busy admiring the tailored cut of the other man's suit jacket. "What exactly did you send her?"

Kaiba smirked and Jounouchi swore he saw a hint of playfulness to it. "A parliament of owls (1)."

He stared at the other man as if he had grown a second head. Rebecca was busy trying to smother her own laughter behind the counter. "Excuse me, owls?"

"Those little birds that go hoot hoot in the night, Jounouchi. I can send you some pictures for reference if you like." Kaiba pushed himself off the counter to loom over Jounouchi.

Jounouchi quickly diverted his gaze from the brunet's lips to those deep blue eyes instead. "But why the hell would you do that?" His jaw dropped in shock. He didn't know if he should be more concerned with absurdity or the intention of the "gift."

The smirk on Kaiba's face became more and more like a smile, stunning Jounouchi into silence and making his heart flutter with anticipation. "Why? Because I didn't want her here with you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1) Owls are considered symbols of good luck in Japan. Owl symbols are usually given to Japanese couples for their marriage. A collective group/flock of owls is called a "parliament."
> 
> A quick note on baby showers. Baby showers are not common practice in Japan. Like a number of other cultures, some people believe that to give gifts to an unborn child can invite bad luck. That is not to say baby showers never happen, but gifts (usually money) are usually given after childbirth. Being that this story takes place sometime in our immediate future, however, it is possible that baby showers as we have here in the US may find a wider reception in Japan. Most importantly of all, the baby shower was mostly planned by Rebecca, who is American.


	10. Interlude- The Past (After Battle City)

The summer sun was finally setting when they arrived back at Domino City. The weary but cheerful group was gathering in the hallway as they waited for Isono to complete the cross-check- whatever that was- before they could disembark from the Battle Ship. Kaiba was standing to the back of the group with arms crossed over his chest and Mokuba, who had finally calmed down from the earlier excitement, at his side.

"What did you think was going to happen?" Anzu rolled her eyes.

"Hey, I almost beat him!" Jounouchi protested and pouted ever so slightly. It was the truth. He had come closer to beating Kaiba in that duel than he had ever done before. Despite his own pride, even he couldn't say he was all too surprised when he was the one defeated at the end.

"How convenient there were no witnesses." Honda grabbed the blond and pulled him into a friendly headlock.

Yugi looked up at Jounouchi with his gentle eyes and ever encouraging smile. "I know you did your best, Jounouchi-kun. You should be proud of how much you've grown as a duelist."

Jounouchi quickly shoved away Honda and picked up his other best friend in a large bear hug. "I know I can always count on you to have my back, Yugi! Screw the rest of you guys."

"Please put me down, Jounouchi-kun." The shorter boy groaned as his legs dangled in the air without purchase.

An announcement came over the PA system informing them that they were finally ready to disembark. Kaiba drew himself to his full length and walked to the front of the group. Mokuba flashed them all an apologetic smile before saying, "Just bear with it. It'll be over soon."

Before any of them could ask the young boy what he meant, the door opened to reveal the fact they had landed on Domino Piers and they had a welcome party. A group of identically dressed men in suits- Kaiba's security goons no doubt- barricaded a smaller group of reporters at about ten feet away from the ship. At the bottom of the stairs, there were four emergency vehicles waiting with EMT workers dressed in the uniform of the KaibaLand medical staff. An array of camera flashes went off in the crowd as soon as they spotted Kaiba and Mokuba starting down the stairs first. The Ishtars and Mai followed behind without hesitation while the rest of the group hung back and stared at each other.

"I am not going out there." Honda declared.

"They're going to win in a waiting contest." Otogi pointed to the press crowd, but even he was eyeing the reporters as if they were a pack of wolves.

"Come on, Jounouchi!" Mai called from the bottom of the stairs with the others looking on behind her.

Jounouchi grabbed Shizuka's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Come on, I'll be with you the whole way."

Once they got off the Battle Ship, the reporters began shouting questions out from the crowd. But the sound and the commotion around him seemed to fade away as he looked over at the sun setting in the horizon. He only heard the sound of the waves rocking against the docks. He took a deep breath, letting the scent of the ocean fill his lungs. He had managed to escape death once again. He hadn't been able to save Mai himself, but she was okay too. And so was Kaiba, who seemed lighter somehow. They had all been taken to the brink in own their individual ways and made it back. It was all that mattered...

"Jounouchi, it's time to go." Kaiba called.

For once, Jounouchi followed without complaint.

...

Jounouchi had never been a big fan of doctors. He wouldn't have agreed to the medical exam if his sister hadn't nearly cried at his initial denial. Neither would he had done so if Anzu had been there to glare and twist his ear at his refusal. And he certainly wouldn't have agreed if he knew Kaiba was going to be in the room the entire time.

"Haven't you ever heard of doctor patient confidentiality?" He glared at the CEO that had followed him into his designated exam room and hadn't left since.

The brunet returned the glare ten-fold. "When you became a participant in _my_ tournament, I became legally responsible for any injury and trauma you sustain in the course of the game. Now be quiet and let the doctor do her job."

"Why don't you go weird out one of the other then?"

Kaiba's piercing blue eye pinned Jounouchi to the table. "Because you were by far the worst injured."

Doctor Yoshimori, a motherly female doctor in her forties, smiled as she pulled on her stethoscope. "I'm going to need you to take off your shirt, dear."

Jounouchi crossed his arms over his chest and glared at her instead. "No." He was not going to have either her or Kaiba staring at his old scars.

Kaiba moved toward the door. "You're going to do as Yoshimori-sensei does and you can do that with or without your sister in the room as well."

Jounouchi capitulated. The last thing he wanted to do was upset Shizuka any further. The material of his t-shirt rubbed against the raw skin of his shoulders and upper torso. He figured the rest of his body wasn't doing much better than his arms or face. Hours after his duel with Malik, the exposed skin of his arms and face took on an angry red and began peeling in spots. The doctor made a noise of disapproval, but he didn't know if it was directed toward his current sunburned state or his old scars. He was also painfully aware of Kaiba's critical gaze sweeping up and down his torso, which was spotted with patches of blisters and peeling skin.

The doctor scowled softly. "Seto-sama, you should have provided your contestant with sunscreen if you were going to have them duel on the top of a tower with full exposure to the sun."

Kaiba and Jounouchi remained quiet. They both had suspicions as to the real cause of Jounouchi's condition.

The doctor continued. "Due to the severity of the sunburn, I'm going to prescribe some oral steroids for you to take over the next three days to help with the healing. You should make sure to stay hydrated and avoid going out into the sun for a few days if you can. And make sure you wear sunscreen from now on. As for everything else, you're a healthy young man for all intents and purposes, which is still worrying as you went into respiratory arrest without warning. I'm going to suggest to your guardian that we run a more intensive set of tests over the next few days, including MRIs and CAT scans to make sure there's no underlying neurological cause."

Jounouchi mostly understood the parts about medication and sunscreen, but not much else. Kaiba, on the other hand, seemed to be mulling over the doctor's words.

"Can you get him in for the MRI now while we're here?" The brunet asked.

"I'll check with the technologists to see if there's any open spots, but I see no cause for immediate alarm."

"Just do it," Kaiba snapped. "I'll be sure to remember this during the hospital's next fund-raising drive."

When the doctor was gone from the room, Jounouchi could no longer stop the silly grin from spreading across his face. "Did you just bribe a doctor for me?"

"It's not a bribe, it's call incentive. And I want to get this sorted out as fast as possible like you do, bonkatsu. I need to assuage public fears about the safety of my Solid Vision technology." Kaiba snarled at the end of the sentence.

Even Jounouchi knew that the tournament had not played out ideally. Between all of Malik's Rare Hunters running around while bullying other duelists out of their rare cards and the unfortunate fact his own temporary death had been broadcast over national TV, it was hard to say who got the rawer deal between Kaiba and Malik. "I'm sorry things didn't turn out the way you wanted." He left the statement open to interpretation over whether he meant the entire tournament or the battle for the title of Duel King.

"It's nothing. I'll beat Yugi another time, his luck can't hold out forever." Kaiba was looking at anything in the room besides the shirtless Jounouchi. "And you can put your shirt back on now."

Jounouchi was glad that the sunburn on his face was hiding the blush he felt. He couldn't believe he had let himself get so comfortable around Kaiba. And damn himself for liking this new change in attitude that was beginning to develop in the other boy. For as long as he had known Kaiba, the brunet had always treated winning and losing as a matter of life and death. In fact, he could recall Kaiba putting himself in unnecessary danger on a number of occasions. But this change made Kaiba significantly less off-putting and far more likable, making it all the more distressing that he was prone to semi-suicidal behavior at times.

"Damn it, Kaiba." Jounouchi muttered to himself. "Just don't pull any stupid stunts while you're in America. Yugi and I won't be around to bail your ass out."

Before he knew it, Kaiba crossed the room in the matter of a few long strides until he was standing right in front of Jounouchi. "Let's recount your many stunts of the last few days, shall we? You nearly drowned in Domino Bay-"

"I wasn't going to let Yugi drown!"

"Your duel with Malik's imposter, interfering with Malik and Kujaku's duel, your duel with Malik, and only God knows what you did while I wasn't watching when Noa had us trapped in his sick world."

Jounouchi grinned sheepishly. He hadn't realized he had accomplished so much in the last few days until Kaiba laid them out. "I don't care. I don't regret doing any of those things and I would do them all again for my friends. Do you ever regret what you do for Mokuba?"

"Never," came Kaiba's quiet yet firm reply.

They stared at each other for a bit before the brunet broke off with a sigh. Jounouchi watched curiously as the other boy reached inside his long trenchcoat for something. A small white card then fluttered down into his lap. He picked it up cautiously, not sure if it was going to explode or do something else equally ridiculous. Jounouchi's eyes widened in shock as he read over the first two lines on the card: _Kaiba Seto, Chief Executive Officer of Kaiba Corporation._

"Oh my god, is this your business card? With your number?" Now Jounouchi knew he was right to fear that small piece of cardstock.

"Don't lose it," Kaiba snapped impatiently. "This is for the next time you idiots get in over your head. I don't want Yugi losing or croaking before I've had a chance to take his title from him. And your sister already has my number so I'll know if you do something stupid either way."

Jounouchi fought down the warm feelings bubbling in his chest. His pride would never let him make use of the information on the card, but the gesture touched him. Maybe it was okay that there was something more unspoken between them after all. And maybe it would be okay to speak their concern for each other out loud one day.

"Thanks, Kaiba."


	11. Track 9- If Only She Knew

_It had been five months since any of us saw Kaiba without the aid of a television, newspaper, or the internet. At first, I didn't particularly think much of Kaiba or his absence. I had other things to worry about, like keeping Honda and Otogi from taking advantage of my sister. Then Otogi left the month after Battle City to resume his own business in the United States._

_Those intervening months had been quiet, almost too quiet. It was beginning to drive me nuts and my skin began crawling just days before Yugi's God Cards were stolen. So when Duel Monsters started appearing in the skies all over the world, I was both worried and excited._

_I regretted those feelings now. Was this situation with Mai now God's way of punishing me for that?_

_I licked my chapped lips. The air inside the Seal was stale and oppressive. I could feel the magic physically pressing into me, weighting down my shoulders and dulling my senses._

_Mai hugged her arms around herself as her lifepoints dropped to mere 450. She was shaking, nothing like the confident woman that left us after Battle City. "No, I need to win. I can't lose!"_

_I couldn't understand what had happened to her. But if the only way to wake her up out of this brainwashing or whatever, I would defeat her. Maybe then I could finally reach through to her... Her side of the field was empty... I hesitated though as Mai continued to mumble to herself. I had seen the power of this Seal before and her soul would be forfeit if I defeat her. But I had been entrusted with Hermos' power. I had been chosen to help Yugi and Yami save the world..._

_"Gigacyber, attack Ma-"_

_"No, Mai!" Suddenly, one of the two men that had been watching the duel from the balcony over us jumped off. He raised his fist to the air and the stone on his ring began glowing as he cried, "Seal of the Orichalcos, release!"_

_The air filled with a sickly green light as I felt the magic around me expand, collapse, and finally shatter. A burst of powerful wind knocked me off my feet and the breath out of my chest. It felt like a 800-pound gorilla had just slammed me into the tile floor. Behind me, I could hear the sound of the shutters moving and the sound of something else louder- almost like the sound of a jet engine._

_When the smoke finally cleared, I ignored the pain jolting through my shoulder to struggle into a sitting position. Both of the men were on the same floor as us, the brown-haired one who had jumped was tightly clutching onto an unconscious Mai._

_"Jounouchi?" Honda called from behind me._

_Taking my eyes off the three in front of me, I turned to reassure my friend. "I'm fine-"_

_I guess I should have known he would turn up sooner or later, he always did in these sorts of situations. Yet when I saw his news conference on TV just yesterday, I hadn't imagine I would see him so soon after five months apart._

_"Nameless Pharaoh," the blond biker was speaking now and pointing at Yami. "Next time, I will take your soul." The stone on his chain cast the room in the same sickly green and then they were gone._

_"No, Mai!" I jumped to my feet. "Damn it!"_

_I immediately regretted the sudden move. No longer running on just pure adrenaline, a wave of weakness and nausea sent me staggering back on my feet. Two pairs of hands caught me, one steadying me against my back and the other holding me up by my right arm. I inadvertently yelped as another shot of pain shot through my arm._

_"What's wrong, Jounouchi?" Honda asked from behind me._

_Kaiba moved in front of me, never letting go of my arm. He was wearing a different coat than the one he wore during Battle City. It was long-sleeved and a deep purple, and similarly lined with studs. It was not nearly as impressive. Unable to keep my mouth shut, I spoke up. "I like the white one better."_

_He only lifted my hand in response._

_"Fuck!" I hissed. "Watch it, you bastard."_

_"You dislocated your shoulder." He glared at me with his piercing blue eye and made no attempt to hide the annoyance from his face._

_"Well, no shit." It was not my first time after all._

_Mokuba, Anzu, Yami, and Otogi crowded around us. I did feel bad for always making them worry._

_"We should get you to a hospital." Anzu looked over to Otogi for guidance._

_"No need," Kaiba barked. "We don't have time for detours."_

_"Hey, my well-being is not a detour." I protested._

_He glared at me in return. "Only when you stop recklessly throwing yourself into danger. Now shut up and hold still while I fix this."_

_We all watched in silence as Kaiba worked. His touch was surprisingly gentle as he bent my arm at the elbow and pushed it in toward my chest. One of Kaiba's hand gripped the wrist of my hand, guiding it to form a fist and steadying my entire arm in that L-shape. The other rested on my injured shoulder as he slowly rotated my arm back and forth (1). There was no pain but a distinct pop in my joints after the third time, followed by immediate relief._

_I quickly removed my arm from his hands and experimentally stretched it. "Wow, I didn't know you could do that."_

_He eyed me with the same critical expression that he often used early in his duels with Yami. "You should take it lightly, ideally make a sling for your arm."_

_I made a face. The last thing I wanted to do was look weak in front of our new enemy. "No worries, this is what? The fourth time that shoulder was dislocated?" I looked to Honda for confirmation and he just rolled his eyes._

_"Fine, see if I care if you break it. Now where's Pegasus?" Kaiba snapped impatiently at Yami._

_The other duelist shook his head. "Pegasus is already gone. Mai had already gotten to him by the time we got here."_

_The brunet made some noise deep in his throat that sounded like a snarl. "Doma is another step ahead of us then."_

_Yami drew the top card of his Duel Disk deck, holding it aloft for everyone to see. "Kaiba, we'll have to stand together in the coming battle. You have one of the Dragon cards too, like my Eye of Timaeus."_

_He and I drew the top card of our decks simultaneously. He flipped it over for us to see. "The Fang of Critias!"_

_"And my Claw of Hermos." I finished, still in disbelief that I had been chosen alongside Yugi._

_Light spilled forth from the three cards in our hands. A pulse of energy rushed up my arm, chasing away the last of the fatigue from the Seal and my injury. From the surprised look on Yami's face and the less than completely stoic one on Kaiba's, both duelist had felt something similar._

_"That was something new." Yugi had taken control of his body again._

_Even as we made our way to Pegasus' locked room, I could feel the presence of the other two dragons sitting in the back of my mind. And if I concentrated just hard enough, I could feel Kaiba no matter the distance between us. These two little facts helped to make the events of the coming days a little easier to bear.  
_

...

Soon after Kaiba's admission, they were drawn back into the living room with the rest of the party attendees. Everyone surrounded the expectant couple and the air was full of cheer. Jounouchi couldn't help but peek at the CEO out of the corner of his eyes. Kaiba hadn't strayed far from his side. In fact, the CEO was leaning against the arm of the couch Jounouchi was seated in, not close enough to touch but close enough to feel the heat radiating from the other body.

Rebecca stood up in the middle of the living room and clapped. "I'd like to thank everyone for coming today and showing their support to the couple of the hour, Mutou Yugi and Anzu-san."

Yugi reached over to take his wife's hand and some of the women in the room cooed in response.

The younger blond woman continued with her beaming smile. "Traditionally at baby showers, the expectant mother is supposed to receive advice from other mothers, but that hardly seems appropriate with all the onee-sans in the room. So instead, I've prepared some games for us."

Yugi's eyes immediately lit up at the mention of games. Anzu ribbed him lightly.

Rebecca pulled out a giant board from behind the couch. On the board, there was a calendar grid for the next two weeks. "So first up is 'guess the birthday' and time of birth if you're especially ballsy."

"Boring," Malik intoned. "Do we get anything if we guess right?"

Ryou shot his boyfriend a fierce glare.

"Excellent question, Malik. In fact, the winner will receive a year-long pass to KaibaLand." The blond announced.

This time Kaiba spoke up. "And for those of us already in the employ of Kaiba Corporation?"

Rebecca smirked. "I guess you'll have to settle for satisfaction of being right or something interesting of your own making."

"Good enough for me!" Malik sprung forward in his seat. "I call next Thursday and I raise your season pass with a dinner reservation for two at Le Chateau."

Honda rolled his eyes. "This isn't poker."

"And that's our anniversary dinner reservation!" Bakura snapped indignantly.

Jounouchi laughed. "Lighten up, Bakura, it's all in good fun. I say the baby's coming on the 25th in the middle of the night. And...I'll add the winner's name to the VIP list of the Tokyo premiere of the movie."

One of the other partygoers leaned over the couch and asked, "Do you come as part of the package?"

"I could make an exception for you." He winked at the woman. She giggled in return with a flushed face.

Kaiba crept closer with one hand just barely grazing Jounouchi's arm. He tried his best to hide the shiver that ran down his spine. Rebecca was jotting down names on the grid as other partygoers gave their own predictions. Yugi was staring at the board with a ponderous expression and glassy eyes. Jounouchi could tell his friend was mentally consulting with the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle.

The spirit of the Puzzle, having taken control of Yugi's body, smirked at Kaiba besides me before announcing with absolute confidence, "It'll be next Wednesday."

"Hey, you're not allowed to bet, Pharaoh. How are we supposed to know if you cheat or induce labor early or something?" Malik protested.

"You insult me to imply that I, of all people, would cheat." Yami glared.

"I wasn't implying, I was saying out right. Back me up here, Kaiba."

"Ishtar does have a point." Kaiba drawled, looking as if he was immensely enjoying Yami's outrage.

Anzu just rolled her eyes as the three men devolved into squabbles much to the amusement of everyone else. "I swear boys never grow up."

Jounouchi just settled back and allowed the warmth of the scene and Kaiba's nearby body put him at ease. Peeking at the other man out of the corner of his eyes, he wondered how their relationship was going to proceed.

...

Sophie growled as she wrenched open the door of the 2001 Toyota Camry. Locking the doors behind her quickly, she dug out her pack of cigarettes crushed under the glock pistol she now carried everywhere in her purse. She inhaled the tobacco, letting the familiar burning sensation calm her. She frowned as she watched the neighborhood outside of the car. It reminded her too much of her own life growing up in Oakland (2).

She fished the notepad out of her jacket pocket and crossed out a name on her long list of suspects. Her pen moved with her as she reviewed her findings thus far. Both Dinosaur Ryuusaki and Insector Haga have been away from Japan the last two months on tour in the European Duel Monsters circuit. Bandit Keith had dropped out of the public eye after Duelist Kingdom years ago. She doubted he would have remained in Japan any way. Then she came to the latest name she had just crossed off her list: Hirutani. Hirutani had been arrested and convicted of armed robbery the previous year and was still serving out his sentence.

The leader of Jounouchi's former gang had been her prime suspect, if only because she couldn't determine anyone with a larger grudge against her Katsuya. But the search had led to another dead end and she was no closer to finding the person sending the daily threats.

The problem with celebrity stalkers was you often never know if they're a legitimate threat until it was too late. This was no ordinary run-of-the-mill stalker and she had seen quite a few harass other clients in the past. No, most stalkers took pride in signing their names, taking every opportunity to let their admired ones know exactly who they were. These death threats were meant to terrorize, not monopolize. There was a high probability that the person wasn't even on her current list. Katsuya was a public figure and there were a lot of deranged people in the world that could easily develop delusions of love or grandeur. But she couldn't sit around and do nothing. It would drive her crazy. She certainly didn't trust the system or the police to handle this. Kaiba could be a useful resource, but she doubted even he could do much without further evidence.

Sighing, she keyed the ignition of the rental. It was time to get moving again. There were still a lot of names on her list to cover...

...

About an hour later, Rebecca whipped out the beer and other fruity girl drinks. Jounouchi stepped out onto the large balcony with two bottles of beer in hand. He had seen Kaiba come out here about ten minutes ago. The other man was lounging on one of the deck chairs set up on the patio with his suit jacket hanging on the chair back. Light from the setting sun illuminated the chestnut hair as if on fire.

He sat down in the deck chair next to Kaiba's and silently offered the man a bottle. Kaiba took the beer without a word- their fingers brushing against each other's ever so slightly.

"This place has a pretty sweet view. I wonder how Rebecca got this place." Jounouchi mused out loud.

Kaiba turned and placed the unopened bottle on the table between them. "This is one of Kaiba Corp's corporate apartments. We use it to house visiting executives and other business partners. Rebecca thought the mansion was too intimidating for a baby shower."

He nodded and placed his own bottle on the table. "You're surprisingly nice to her, you know? It's just kind of unexpected."

Kaiba turned his head to glare at him. "And what's wrong with that? She's smart and far more competent than half the people in my employ. And she's practically family."

They sat together in silence for a few minutes while watching the sun set. He had forgotten how beautiful the sunset over Domino piers could be. It reminded him of the last day of Battle City. When they had landed on the pier that evening, they had been immediately surrounded by reporters and EMT workers. Yet Jounouchi, with yet another duel lost to Kaiba under his belt, found that the sunset provided all the solace he needed then.

Kaiba and he had a tumultuous relationship from the very start. From the first time Kaiba had been introduced to the class during freshman year to the first time they had actually exchanged words in Yugi's game shop, their relationship was defined by discord. Even if the CEO had never really considered him a real opponent in card games or wits, Jounouchi couldn't take his eyes off the other boy- not when he was constantly throwing himself into the path of direct confrontation with Yami.

The clashes in personality that had once left bruised egos and real bruises in their wake gave way to these little battles for control over a situation, over having said the wrong thing...

Wanting someone was simple enough, but the how, why, and when were not so much...

"Kaiba, about our...situation." Jounouchi began.

The other man interrupted him first. "Jounouchi, you should know right off the bat that I don't do flings or one-night stands." The CEO piercing gaze pinned him back against the deck chair.

"You mean you've been with other people?" He wasn't sure if he should feel glad or offended that there had been others in Kaiba Seto's life before him. At least one of them would know what to do... Maybe one day, he would ask about these people before him, but not now.

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "I may have some trust issues, but I'm not an ascetic monk. And you?"

He didn't like to think about his own pathetic lack of a love life in the last decade. The handfuls of date he had gone on never panned out. The girls and women he went out with never seemed to mesh with his personality or lifestyle. Instead, he just shrugged and tried to appear nonchalant, "Sophie says I'm too picky."

"You're not exactly what I would consider the arbiter of good taste." There was a smirk on the other man's face, but the tone of his voice was more teasing.

Jounouchi felt a lot more relaxed after Kaiba fired off the opening salvo. "Hey, I have a well-defined palate, you know, for things like a good hamburger, limited edition Converse sneakers, and cranky CEOs of multi-million dollar gaming companies."

Kaiba grew quiet at his comment.

He tried to not let the silence deter him too much. "So is flirting out of the question then?"

"At least not in public, you're anything but subtle."

"How about hand holding then? Probably not. I feel kinda sorry for all your ex's. I just can't imagine you sending flowers or birthday cards or setting up candlelit dinners. The thought of you doing something romantic and mushy is just scary." Jounouchi faked a shiver. "I'm guessing you also don't do romantic walks on the beach, getting caught in the rain, or cuddling in front of a fire with marshmallow smores." He chuckled to himself.

Kaiba had fallen silent again, but it wasn't the same contemplative quiet as before. All the humor had fled his face, leaving Jounouchi to wonder if he had gone too far.

"This isn't a joke to me. I'm not putting myself on the line for your whim." Kaiba began to rise from his seat.

Jounouchi panicked. Running off his mouth had gotten him in trouble once again. Sophie's voice in his head immediately began berating his stupidity. He grabbed the other man's hand before Kaiba could put some distance between them. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to trivialize the situation or your feelings. I'm just feeling nervous. I've never even been in a proper relationship, much less one with another man. So please can you cut me some slack or else I'll just keep running my mouth off like a jackass and sabotaging any chance we have because I'm a fucking moron-"

"Jounouchi," Kaiba butted into his rant. "It's clear that you still have your doubts...but I may have been a bit hasty."

He gave an hysterical laugh- it was either that or punch something/someone in frustration. "It took us 12 years to get to this point. I don't think even a pair of sloths could have been slower."

"Blame yourself for being AWOL for 95 percent of that time then." The brunet snapped.

"Is it always going to be like this between us? The fighting and the snide remarks?"

"We're not sixteen anymore, Jounouchi. You have to have faith that we're not going to be like that anymore. But you have to earn my trust just as you would for anyone else. Despite what some of my competitors may say, I am not a machine."

It seemed almost absurd that in his own way, Kaiba Seto was more emotionally mature than Jounouchi. What didn't surprise him was he himself was still the bumbling idiot of the pair.

Kaiba was staring very intensely at something behind Jounouchi- something in the apartment. Before Jounouchi could turn to investigate, the other man leaned forward until his lips were hovering next to Jounouchi's ear. "You should also know that I don't share. We'll talk again when you've dropped the dead weight."

Kaiba straightened up and moved back toward the apartment. Looking over at the party inside, he realized whom this dead weight Kaiba referred to was.

...

Mai had never been a particularly good sport: she was always tempted to gloat her own victories and losing was always out of the question. She wasn't proud of what she did in the past to secure her wins, cheating the least of all. She wasn't much of a team player either. Perhaps that was why Yugi, Jounouchi, and their group had put her so ill at ease when she met them.

It felt strange to be coming full circle to the group that had defined many aspects of her own young adult years. Yugi and Anzu were having their first child. Not-so-little Shizuka had her own career and was engaged.

"Oh, it's you." A youthful face crowned by springy blond locks scowled as soon as Mai walked in through the apartment door. "I thought you weren't coming."

Mai tried hard to remember who this young woman that spoke Japanese with the slightest hint of an accent was. "We were able to sort it out. Excuse me, but I don't think we've met before."

The young woman stuck her petite nose in the air and gave Mai a cursory glance over the rim of her glasses. "Rebecca Hopkins."

"Oh, Kaiba Mokuba's girlfriend. I'm Kujak-"

"Yes, yes, I know who you are, Kujaku Mai-san. Just know that the only reason you were even invited was because of Shizuka."

The haughty tone and gaze was enough to make Mai reach out and slap the brat silly. She didn't know what she had done to offend Rebecca Hopkins, but she could guess it might have something to do with either Kaiba Seto or Mokuba.

She was fortunately saved from having to interact with the other blond further by the appearance of Mutou Yugi. "Rebecca, that's no way to treat your guests."

"But Yami..." Rebecca whined, suddenly sounding more fourteen than twenty-four.

"Anzu was hoping you could magic up a virgin strawberry daiquiri for her." Yugi reached over and patted the younger woman on the head.

With one last glare over her shoulders, Rebecca marched off into the next room with her nose high in the air. Mai took the chance to study Yugi. She had noticed him at the store opening, but hadn't the chance to talk with the Duel King yet. Even after all these years, he was still wearing the Millennium Puzzle around his neck and his taste in fashion was a bit more on the conventional side. The overwhelming sense of power and sharp blood-red eyes, however, had not changed.

"Congratulations on the kid." She smiled as she offered the present in her hands.

Yugi looked a bit lost when he finally took the brightly wrapped gift. "Thank you, Mai. I heard Kaiba gave you some trouble."

"Let's just say Kaiba has a weird sense of humor."

Yugi raised a skeptical eyebrow. "That's news to me. I wasn't aware he had any."

She laughed.

"But Mai, I need to know what your intentions are." Yugi's gaze was measured and unrelenting.

"You should probably ask Kaiba first." Mai glared and raised a perfectly manicures finger to point at the two men who appeared to be arguing on the balcony.

Yugi turned his head in the direction of her pointing. "I have a better sense of who Kaiba Seto is as a person. I really don't know you all that well, Mai."

She sighed. Yugi had seen the best and worst (mostly worst) of her personality; she shouldn't be surprised that he may doubt her. After everything she had done, maybe she would be inclined to give herself a second harder look as well. "My feelings for Jounouchi have always been genuine, whether it's back then or now. I don't have to justify that to you or anyone else, Yugi."

"I just wished the two of you didn't treat this as some sort of competition. It's not a question of who likes whom more," Yugi shook his head as Kaiba approached them. "Don't forget this is Jounouchi's life."

...

Jounouchi sighed and leaned back into the car seat. He was mentally and physically exhausted from his long day. Sophie, having shown up an hour after his initial call, was busy rambling off his schedule for the next two weeks. It had taken some nagging, but she had managed to convince the producers to let him hang around until the the birth of Yugi and Anzu's child. But there was a lot to do once he returned to the US: press junkets and interviews, auditions, and script readings. And he would have to work double time to catch up with his co-stars.

"Katsuya, you really need to start looking through those scripts I gave you. I know things have been a little hectic, but these directors are waiting for your reply. I still have to arrange for your talent agency to give official replies after you've made your decision. If you don't start soon, I will tie you to a chair and you will do nothing but read scripts until Yugi's kid pops out." She scowled at the road ahead of her.

He sighed again. There was almost no talking to her when she was in this foul of a mood. "Do I finally get a vacation when I'm dead?"

The entire car gave a lurch as she suddenly sped up. He yelped as he slammed back into the seat, courtesy of his seat-belt. "Oh God, Sophie, please slow down. And I think you just passed the hotel."

"We are staying at a different one now. I had our stuff sent over earlier this afternoon." She turned her head to glare at him. "And if I hear you joke like that again, I will personally hang you by your entrails."

"It doesn't make a lot of sense to threaten me with death to make me not talk about it!"

As they sped recklessly down the road, he muttered a silent prayer that he may survive Sophie's psychotic driving habits and live long enough to actually have that second conversation with Kaiba.

...

Shizuka bade Yugi farewell after he had dropped her off a block away from her mother's apartment building. She was feeling particularly accomplished after a day of helping Anzu sort through the gifts from the baby shower and put the finishing design touches on the nursery. The older woman, though slightly more cranky than usual as she got closer to her due date, was always a welcomed distraction from the other things going on in her life. She pulled out her cellphone to find that she had a text message from Honda. She smiled a little to herself. Maybe she would call him tonight.

The spring evening was brisk but chilly. She pulled her jacket closer around her shoulders and began the short walk to her mother's apartment- the same one they had moved into when they first came to Domino. The street was strangely deserted at the hour of the day, but it was close to dinnertime for most people. The hair on the back of her neck stood when her keen ears detected another set of footsteps falling into sync behind her. Her heart began racing and she picked up her pace, running toward the apartment building down the street. The person behind her followed, quickly closing the distance between them.

"Shizuka, wait!" The words came as a hand fell on her shoulder.

She barely managed to stifle the scream on her tongue. Whirling around, she panted, "Otou-san, don't scare me like that!"

Jounouchi Tanaka gave her a slight grin and she felt her insides recoil in horror. "I would have gone up to the apartment, but I wasn't sure if your mother was home. It would be easier if you just gave me your phone number."

She leaned back against the wall of a nearby building to catch her breath. "Lucky for you, Okaa-san went to Tokyo to visit some friends."

"May I come up?"

She hesitated for the briefest moment before fiercely squashing down her doubt. Shizuka nodded in agreement. They spent the last leg of the journey in an awkward silence. She never was very good at starting the conversation with her estranged father; she was far more comfortable answering his questions instead. When they got up to the apartment, she had him wait at the door to make sure her mother was indeed gone. Neither her mother or her brother would have approved of her seeing her father again.

"Would you like some tea?"

The man just nodded and quickly sat himself at the dining room table.

In the kitchen, she took the opportunity to calm her raging heart. She berated her initial paranoia. In the last month that she had begun communicating with her father again, he had yet to give her a legitimate reason to fear him. He had been very open about meeting her in public to catch up on her life and the news of her brother's. For all intents and purposes, her father appeared to have gone straight after his release from prison a year and a half ago. His apology had been sincere, and she could understand his hesitation with seeing Katsuya or their mother just yet.

"I don't know if there's any way on earth to really apologize for what I did. I was a monster." He had said to her.

Shizuka wanted to give him this chance. After all, the law and his sentence was meant to rehabilitate and give him another chance. With two cups of hot green tea in hand, she emerged from the kitchen to find that her father was no longer at the table.

"Otou-san?"

Small clicking noises came from the living room instead. She hastily crossed the span of the apartment to find her father hovering over her laptop computer in the living room. She couldn't really see what he was looking at from the distance, but it looked like email.

"Otou-san, what are you doing?"

The older man gave a start when he finally heard her. He closed his browsing window and closed the lid of the laptop. "I'm sorry, Shizuka. I hope you don't mind, I wanted to check my mail to see if any of those job applications called back."

She handed him the cup of green tea and sat down on the armchair across from him. "No problem at all, Otou-san. Just say so next time."

A toothy grin overtook his lips as he relaxed into the sofa. "So tell me, how's Katsuya been doing?"

Once again, she fought the suspicion rising in her chest and scolded herself for her cynicism.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1) See [How to fix a dislocated shoulder](http://www.wikihow.com/Fix-a-Dislocated-Shoulder) for picture reference of what Kaiba is doing in this scene.
> 
> (2) Oakland, California specifically. That may give you a bit of an idea of what her background is like. A large part of the reason why Sophia is handling the issue with the death threats alone is because of her deep mistrust of the police and people in positions of traditional authority.


	12. Track 10- White Noise

_Tracking Jounouchi had not been my original intention- that was the job of Yugi and his little gang. I had bigger fish to fry after all. But as I sat in the sport car in the car dealer lot, my Fang of Critias card began resonating with one of its brothers. I had winced as a sharp pain pierced my chest and I realized it was Jounouchi's Hermos calling out._

_As Mokuba and I got closer to the Paradius building in the distance, both the resonance and the pain became more and more insistent. The brakes squealed as I brought my new car to a sudden stop._

_"What is it, Nii-sama?" Mokuba asked._

_A pillar of green light pierced the night sky like a great lance._

_"Something's wrong." I gripped the gear stick and wrenched it into first gear. My little brother jerked in the passenger seat as I swerved the car around to follow the light._

_"Nii-sama, slow down!" Mokuba was clinging to the handle over his passenger side window._

_As the light before us intensified, so did my pain and Jounouchi's presence sitting in the back of my mind began to fade. I floored the accelerator in response. The car barreled down the narrow alleyway, knocking over garbage cans left and right._

_"Jounouchi!" A woman's scream broke through the night._

_They came into the empty lot just as the Seal of Orichalcos closed in the lone figure of Jounouchi. Even in the end, Jounouchi only had eyes for her._

_"Oh my god, Jounouchi!" My little brother was already halfway up the chain link fence before I could even climb out of the car. "What are you doing to him, Mai?"_

_I growled. It was Kujaku, it was always Kujaku. My blood boiled as I watched her kneel down to hold Jounouchi's prone body- the sign of the seal's magic still fading from her forehead. It took me three paces before I overtook my brother and cleared the fence. Curse Jounouchi and his need to play hero; he always had to save someone. And it was always Kujaku that led him into situations like this._

_She looked up to at me with both tears and determination in her eyes. "Kaiba."_

_"You did this to him." I snarled. I didn't usually resort to physical violence, especially against a woman, but I was sorely tempted to in this case._

_She ran a gentle hand through Jounouchi's blond hair. He almost looked like he was sleeping. "Yes, but I'm going to make everything right. I'll avenge Jounouchi and Varon," She looked to the other unconscious man that was propped up against the fence. "With this."_

_"Give me that! You're not worthy of that card."_

_I moved forward to take the Claw of Hermos card from her hand. She weaved under my arms, dropping Jounouchi suddenly. Cursing, I barely caught the other boy before he hit the ground. Jounouchi's head rolled limply to the side, and he felt all too light and all too cold. Even a skeptic such as myself was forced to face the growing reality of magical and supernatural powers that had invaded my neat and orderly life; especially when handed the unconscious and unresponsive bodies of Amelda and Jounouchi. But one thing was crystal clear to me: Kujaku had willingly did this to Jounouchi, even after all the stupid stunts he pulled to save her during the Battle City finals._

"He's basically a vegetable." _One of my doctors had said after examining Amelda._

_I clenched my fist. I was going to do far worse to her than any Seal of Orichalcos could._

_"Jounouchi, wake up." Mokuba was shaking the boy. "This isn't funny, now get up."_

_I eased my brother's hand off Jounouchi's shoulder. "It's no use, Mokuba. It's just like Amelda."_

_"Kaiba," She suddenly shouted over the roar of her motorcycle. "Just watch, I'll show you I'm a true Duelist as well."_

_I wanted to go after her. I wanted to show her how unworthy she was of Jounouchi's Hermos; how she didn't even deserve the honor of being defeated by it._

_"Jounouchi-kun!" Yugi and his friends had finally arrived._

_Kujaku was already halfway down the block on her motorcycle. I looked to my brother. "Stay with Yugi."_

_"But Nii-sama-"_

_I hopped onto the yellow motorcycle that had been left behind. The keys were still in the ignition. The engines revved beneath me as I took down the street in pursuit of Kujaku into the night. Jounouchi would be safe with Yugi and my brother. I wasn't going to let Kujaku escape. I would be the one to defeat Dartz utterly and completely. No one was going to steal my revenge from me, least of all Kujaku Mai._

_Because before I knew it, Jounouchi had become second to only Mokuba. Yet now, I was left wondering just how much distance was actually between the first and second place of my heart._

...

It took Jounouchi another two and a half days to escape their new hotel. Sophie had been dead serious about working on script review. Yet after the first day in their new rooms, she finally began loosening up again. By the second day, he was able to convince her to let him out, lest he go insane with cabin fever. Donning his black wig again, he set out to accomplish what had been on his mind ever since the baby shower.

He looked down at the screen of his cellphone again and scrutinized the message he sent Mai an hour ago: _Do you have time to meet now? I would like to talk._

So he was sitting on a bench in the park just a few blocks away from the Kaiba Corporation building downtown. He could see the skyscraper towering over the trees in the distance.

He was about to dig into his pocket for his wallet when a pair of lace-up leather boots peeking out from under a light wool longcoat caught his attention.

Blowing the black bangs out of his eyes, he grinned up at the woman standing over him. "How did you know it was me?"

"It takes more than a bad wig to fool me, Jounouchi." She sat down on the bench once he scooted over. "I have to say, this is the first time I've been on the receiving end of a public breakup."

He felt awkward pointing it out. "Well, we were never together to begin with."

She sighed and tucked strands of long blond hair behind her ear. "I guess the only person I have to blame is myself for not sinking my claws into you when I had the chance. Who am I to think I could compete against Kaiba Seto?"

"This isn't a-"

"Contest, I know; as if Yugi hadn't already lectured me enough. But can I ask why?"

"I care deeply about you, but you were never there. Each time you just took off without so much as a goodbye. You never hung around long enough for us to get to know each other out of life-or-death situations. You never gave us a chance. I wanted you to stay after Battle City..."

He had wanted her to stay and when she had driven off in her car that day, he felt the loss of another opportunity.

She stared down at her hands folded in her lap. "I couldn't stay."

"And you couldn't expect me to wait around."

"But Kaiba was there?"

Jounouchi chuckled to himself. "He never did anything with us happily, but yeah, he was still there. He was always there as long as we needed him and after a while, I think he started to let us do the same for him."

"Did I ever have a chance?" She asked.

"The others may not see it, but I do and you're a wonderful woman, Mai. If Kaiba wasn't part of the picture, it would probably be you in a heartbeat."

She gave him a cheeky smile. "I guess that answers the question of whether you're gay or bi."

He could only manage a weak smile. The exact labeling of his sexual preference was not an ordeal he was looking forward to. "You're taking this really well."

She slung an arm around his shoulder and he leaned into the hug. "I had suspicions it would turn out this way, but I wanted to let you know about my feelings regardless. Even I couldn't deny the fact he cared about you. You should have seen him after...you lost your soul after our duel."

Jounouchi gave a start. "Kaiba was there?"

"You were already gone when he arrived. I thought he was going to throttle me on the spot. I don't want to know what he might have done if those Orichalcos soldiers hadn't stopped him from following me..."

They lapsed into silence and the streetlights came to life as the last of the setting sun's rays vanished behind the horizon. He made no attempt to move Mai's arm, instead taking the time to revel how things might have turned out differently. He took a deep breath- the delicate fragrance of her perfume filling his nostrils. The feelings he once had for her might have been love- the young and reckless kind that found him at the wrong end of a gun more times than not. But those feelings had faded and changed with time, just as they had...

"Our children would have been gorgeous." Mai teased with a sparkle in her eyes.

"Yeah..."

She moved away suddenly and stood. As she stretched, she announced, "I'm going back to Tokyo tonight."

He was surprised he no longer felt the loss that usually accompanied her departures; there was a sense of closure now. "Leaving so soon again?"

Mai turned to face him, the streetlight above casting a faint halo around her golden hair. "I was only in town for the opening of the store, my headquarters is back in Tokyo. I hung around this long because I wanted to see you. You'll be leaving for California soon, right? You can't blame me if I don't exactly want to stick around and watch you be all lovey-dovey with Kaiba."

Her pained smile still broke his heart.

"Mai..."

"It's okay, Jounouchi. I'll survive a little rejection, I'm much stronger than when we last met. I'll survive and we'll always have our memories." She began walking backwards- her heels clicking loudly against the cement sidewalk as she retreated.

"Goodbye, Mai."

"You have my number, don't be a complete stranger, Jounouchi." Mai blew him a kiss before turning and walking away.

Jounouchi did not stand or move away from the bench. He watched as her silhouette moved further away and grew fainter until it was gone all together. He recalled what he was trying to do before Mai's arrival. The worn business card was the sole occupant of that particular pocket in his wallet. The colors had faded a bit over the last 11 years, but he could still read the number on it.

When he returned to his hotel room later that evening, his cellphone alerted him to the arrival of a new text message that read: _I'm on my way home. Best of luck with Kaiba. Love, Mai._

Sophie came into the room with two steaming plates from room service as he continued to stare at the message. After placing the food down on the table of his suite, she came up and draped her arms over his shoulder asking, "So what are you smiling about?"

He snapped the lid of his phone closed before she could see the message. "I'm just happy an old friend has finally found her place in the world."

...

Malik Ishtar was generally not someone you wanted to owe favor(s) to. Yet Jounouchi was standing in the lobby of the Kaiba Corporation building, waiting for the Egyptian man to whom he would owe a huge favor to before the day was through. It was the first time Jounouchi had ever stepped into the headquarters of Kaiba's company, despite having known the man for more than a decade. In that instance, he regretted not just asking his sister for Kaiba's number instead.

With its high and clear ceilings and walls, the lobby was bathed in natural light and the sound was muffled as employees passed in and out. A large Blue Eyes White Dragon fountain stood at the center of the floor; the spouting water catching the sunlight like diamonds. Occasionally, someone would stop and stare openly at him- he had chosen to forgo his usual disguise today. Only the security guard at the front desk, who had called up to Malik's office, had asked for his autograph so far.

"Jounouchi-san!" The security guard called. Further behind the security desk, Malik was waiting with his arms folded across his chest. The guard handed him a badge stating he was a visitor. "Please stay with your escort at all times. At a certain access level, the system will flag you as an intruder if you stray too far from another tag with the appropriate security level. When that happens, the system will take the appropriate steps to eliminate all threats."

Malik burst into laughter at Jounouchi's incredulous expression. "He's kidding, Jounouchi, mostly. I'll make sure you get in and out in one piece."

He sputtered at the indignity. "How was I supposed to know? This is Kaiba we're talking about, I'm surprised he doesn't have death drones patrolling the halls like in some sci-fi movie."

"Oh, that happens after business hours. Those are programmed to shoot on sight and ask questions later." Malik replied in the same deadpan.

This time, the security guard joined Malik in his laughter. With his face red from embarrassment, Jounouchi crossed his arms over his chest and snapped, "Are we going to go or not, Malik?"

The Egyptian waved to the guard as they headed toward the elevator. "See you later, Watanabe-san."

Jounouchi was still pouting when they got into the elevator. "Do you harass all of your visitors like that?"

Malik straightened his tie as he spoke- Jounouchi never imagined he would see the Egyptian dressed in such a neatly pressed lavender-colored suit. "Come on, Jounouchi. If it hadn't been you, you would have thought it was hilarious too. Some people think we run a prison down here, but we are pretty strict about our security. We have a lot of expensive equipment and more than our fair share of disgruntled ex-employees and corporate competitors."

He reached down to fiddle with the badge now hanging off the lapel of his sport coat. "Don't I know it, it's Kaiba's own fault for pissing everyone off. He really needs to stop doing that. Last year, did he-"

Malik cut him off. "Yes, we don't like to talk about it, but Kaiba personally rearranged all the security protocol after that last incident. We were just lucky no one got hurt."

They spent the rest of the ride up to the 35th floor in silence. Of their former foes, Malik was the one that Jounouchi was most uncomfortable around. He guessed being brainwashed by the guy was the tipping point. But he could see that time and it long lauded healing properties had done much good for Malik and Bakura. As they stepped off the elevator, he asked, "Malik, about you and Bakura?"

"What about Ryou and me?"

"How did the two of you get together?"

Malik chuckled to himself. "The spirit of Ryou's ring and I had a sort of camaraderie back in the old days of Battle City. So I was more than a little surprised at the quiet and serious man I found when I first came back to Japan six years ago, and he was not happy being mistaken for his darker half. Hilarity and misunderstandings ensued, and here we are today. You can ask Ryou for the extended version some day if you like."

"And working for Kaiba?"

"Hey, I will take Kaiba over my sister any day of the week. Isn't that right, Sachiko-san?" Malik directed his question toward the woman sitting behind a fortress of a reception desk.

Upon Malik's arrival, she began typing frantically at her keyboard. "Ishtar-san, you had an appointment with Seto-sama? He's going to skin me alive if I messed up his calendar again!"

"Don't worry, we're just dropping by to give Kaiba a surprise visit. Is he alone in his office?"

"Well, yes but-"

"Does he have any meetings soon?"

"No, not until this afternoon, but-"

Malik gave Jounouchi a hard slap over his shoulder, sending the blond stumbling forward. "There, you see, he's perfectly free. Go right on in. I'll harass him for the full details later myself."

Hearing the Egyptian's words, Sachiko looked as if she was about to hyperventilate or vomit- or possibly do both at the same time. "Why is it that none of you ever make appointments to see Seto-sama? Every time you or Rebecca-san or Yugi-san barges into his office, do you know who he yells at afterward? I can't take this anymore. No one was ever this disrespectful to Mokuba-sama!"

"That's because he's the likable one." Malik pushed him harder in the direction of Kaiba's office door and hissed, "Go, don't worry about her. Just get in there, somehow you look worse off than her."

Jounouchi took a deep breath and charged into the office, only to find it completely empty. Had Kaiba seen him coming and made his escape beforehand? The flush of a toilet sounded through another door to the right and the CEO emerged while toweling his hands.

When the brunet didn't immediately take note of Jounouchi's presence and headed back to his desk, the blond cleared his throat loudly. "Nice office, from the way your secretary was acting, I thought you had medieval torture devices in here."

Kaiba paused momentarily at his words before continuing back to his desk and slowly lowered himself into an admittedly comfy looking leather chair. "Be glad Sachiko didn't hear you, she insists she's an administrative assistant. Capable for the most part, if a bit ineffectual at keeping intruders at bay." He was trying to glare at the aforementioned employee through the wall.

Jounouchi quickly crossed the length of the room to stand in front of the other man's desk. "Easy there, Malik decided to give me a tour of the place." He held up his shiny new visitor badge for emphasis.

"And that includes my personal office?"

Jounouchi gave a toothy grin, hoping it might put Kaiba at ease. "No one ever said Malik Ishtar wasn't thorough."

"What do you want, Jounouchi? I don't have time to..." Kaiba paused as if to consider his next choice of words. "Banter with you."

"Do you have time for dinner Friday night then? Or are you too busy with the doing big, bad CEO things?" He raised an eyebrow in question.

"I would have thought a movie star such as yourself could easily acquire better company for dinner; like one of a blond and female persuasion."

Jounouchi placed both hands down on Kaiba's desk, taking care not to wrinkle the documents spread over it's surface. "Mai's already gone back to Tokyo."

He might have believed this news had no effect on Kaiba if the other man's typing hadn't stopped for that instant. Jounouchi had always been good at reading body language if nothing else. A lick of chapped lips betrayed Kaiba's attempt to hide a sudden onslaught of anxiety, but the doubt and the tension in the air was gone.

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

"How does Friday at seven sound then? I won't wait around if you're late." Kaiba punctuated the threat with a quick glare.

Excitement of the sort he hadn't felt since he was a teenager bubbled in his chest. He came to see Kaiba on an impulse, not even sure anything would result from his little visit. He could feel a stupid grin start to overtake his face. Jounouchi's leaned his weight further onto the table; his hands slipped forward and shifted documents much to Kaiba's displeasure. "You're serious? You're not pulling my leg, are ya?"

"I'm a man of my words," Kaiba's tone was even and somber. "I said we would talk about the possibility once you demonstrated a willingness to commit and you've done just that. I'll leave the choice in restaurant up to you, considering your appetite. Just make sure it's private."

Jounouchi bounced back on the ball of his feet, just barely suppressing the urge to do a small victory dance. "So, care to give me your number? So my people can call your people with the details."

"You should have it already. I haven't changed it since I first got it."

The worn business card Kaiba had given him in the wake of Battle City still sat in his wallet and was now burning a hole in his pocket with the reminder of his moments of weakness. During his first two years on his own, he would pull it out whenever he was a few months behind in rent and living mainly on 100 yen instant ramen. Even after following Sophie to Hong Kong and finally America, he'd dig it out to remind himself that he had a way home if she abandoned him. A lump formed in his throat, making his next words heavy and curt, "Why'd you never change it?"

And Kaiba himself admitted something in his own rare moment of weakness: "I was afraid you might actually call one day."

...

Sophia was no policeman. She would have sooner died than be a pig, but even now she was forced to admit they may have their place in society. Her investigation, for all her lack of detective and forensics skills, had come to a standstill. This was made all the more troubling by the discovery of two more death threats hidden into the new linen placed in Katsuya's room in his absence. She didn't know how the sender had found them. They had somehow managed to keep their hotel move out of the press and public eye, but the death threats resumed the third day just as she was about to relax.

And then there was the letter for her... It was mailed internationally from Budapest with no return address and postmarked from last week; sent to a hotel room that no one should have foreseen her checking into. She hadn't figured out who had sent the letter until she opened it to reveal its message written in a neat flowing script:

_Your borrowed time is almost up. Make the best of what you have left._

Her hands shook as she read over the content again for the 28th time, as if something would become clear if she just read it once more. Her fear over Katsuya's safety compounded. Deep in her soul, this was a moment she always knew would come and had accepted it for its part in the bargain she made with _her_. But would she be able to keep Katsuya safe before her time ran out?

"You told me to bring him here." She muttered to herself in the desperate hope that the sender might hear her somehow. "I can't just leave him in danger now, please tell me what to do."

She received no miraculous answer in return.

...

An unfortunate drawback of being part of a group both so small and tight-knit like theirs was that news of both the good and bad variety spread through the grapevines at the speed of light. Having seen this sort of thing happen on multiple occasions, he thought it would be better for his little brother to hear the news from his mouth first. The rift of the last few weeks were still healing.

"Jounouchi and I are having dinner Friday evening." He figured that was blunt enough, and his genius brother and equally intelligent girlfriend could piece the rest together themselves.

Two pairs of hands slowed over the dinners sitting in front of them. Mokuba and Rebecca looked quickly at each other before sighing impatiently in unison. "Finally!" They chorused together.

"So where are you guys going for your date?" Rebecca balanced her chopsticks delicately between her fingers.

He glared at her. "It's not a date, and he's still deciding on the restaurant."

"Oh god, have you ever been on a date? I've never seen you go out with anyone." A troubled expression came over Mokuba's face.

"Of course, I have. Why does everyone think I'm some sort of robot or machine?" Kaiba snapped, causing Mokuba and Rebecca to exchange knowing glances again. "And don't say it. I don't need the smartass comments right now."

Realization dawned over both of their faces simultaneously, although Rebecca's expression carried hints of sadistic glee.

"You're nervous, Seto." She announced triumphantly.

"That's preposterous!"

No, his heart had not been racing like some demented schoolgirl's when Jounouchi showed up in his office this afternoon. The little id inside his head had not done a little dance when the blond announced that Mai had left the picture. He hadn't asked Sachiko to reschedule his dinner meeting with the head of the Suzuki Electronics Group in order to accept Jounouchi's invitation; and if she told anyone, she was going to have to worry about far worse than being fired.

Mokuba made a face. "I love you and all, Nii-sama, but I don't want to think about you and sex in the same sentence, much less with Jounouchi."

The look on Rebecca's face, on the other hand, suggested she might find the idea intriguing at a level Kaiba was not comfortable with.

"Good, now you know how I felt when I walked in on the two of you in the gazebo last year." He snapped in return and watched with satisfaction as the two young adults turned beet red.

The questions didn't stop even after he had retreated into his study after dinner. Kaiba didn't know who told who what first, but the phone calls, text messages, and emails came pouring in. Anzu was the first to call, followed by a text message from Yami (it turned out the former Pharaoh had picked up some modern technological know-how or Yugi had typed it up for him), then another phone call from Yugi himself, which was quickly followed by a smartass email from Malik, and finally an encouraging voicemail from Bakura after Kaiba finally gave up on answering the phone.

Just as he was about to get back into the flow of all the work he'd neglected in the wake of Jounouchi's office visit, the phone on his desk gave a shrill ring. He glared at the name that came up on the caller ID before taking the cordless off its stand.

"I would have thought you would have been the first to call." He grumbled, no longer mad but just resigned to the fact nothing would be accomplished that night. "Either you or Shizuka."

Honda chuckled at the other end of the phone. "I was with Shizuka when Jounouchi first told her the news. You should have heard how loudly she squealed. Who else has tried to contact you so far?"

His cellphone began vibrating again and inching ever so slowly across desktop. "The question should be who hasn't yet. It's a wonder the lot of you can keep any secrets. All of you nitwits are acting liked we're in high school again."

"Come on, Kaiba. We were way better than this in high school! We were busy saving the world again for the fourth time! And you can't blame us for being happy for you or Jounouchi. What? It only took you guys like 15 years to get to this point?"

"Jesus Christ, we're just having dinner." Kaiba fought down the urge to start cursing at the other man. He scrolled through the five additional text messages he had received on his cellphone since he last checked. One was actually work-related; it was regarding an unexpected production delay of the latest Duel Disk model. Three of them were from Malik, each half joking and half serious about how to handle the press in case of premature discovery. The last was from the source of his troubles itself, Jounouchi.

_I never would have thought Shizuka was such a gossip. Maybe I should have told her about this after the fact._

Kaiba typed out a quick reply: _It was probably Rebecca that told Anzu first._

"Hey, Kaiba, you still there?" Honda's voice suddenly brought him back down to earth. "So where are you guys going Friday night?"

"I don't know. I left it up to Jounouchi to decide."

"And who picks up the check in this case?"

Honda's question actually gave Kaiba pause. In a heterosexual relationship, it was generally expected for the man to pay for dinner. In his past relationships, he paid for dinner/lunch more times than not; well because he was considered stupidly rich sometimes. But Jounouchi and him were both men with a great amount of pride and stubborn to a fault. Kaiba couldn't help but smile to himself- it would be interesting at the very least. Maybe he could even make it into a little game...

"You said you were with Shizuka tonight." He thought it best to redirect Honda's attention elsewhere. "I take it she's at least talking to you again."

"We had dinner together tonight. It was..." Honda struggled to find the right word. "Nice... Shizuka and I are working things out on our end. You should do your best too, Kaiba."

Though Kaiba did not say it aloud, he was glad to see the two of them try and salvage their long-standing relationship. It took a load off his chest to know Shizuka was happy.

"Honda, I'd like for you to do me a favor."

There was a long pause from the other end, probably due to Honda still processing the fact Kaiba was asking for help. "What is it?"

"Can you keep an eye on that reporter at your paper? She's been sniffing around a lot lately." The last thing either Jounouchi or he needed was extra media scrutiny.

He could hear Honda typing over the phone. "You mean Kimiko? Sure, she's always given you your fair share of trouble. I'll see if I can arrange for an assignment out of town and get her out of Domino for a few days."

"Good, I'll out myself to the press when I'm good and ready."

"Along with the quarterly earning announcement and the release date of the next Duel Disk system probably." Honda snorted.

Kaiba smirked as the timeline for the next few months unfurled in his head. "Would you expect anything less from me?"

...

Sophie called in a stylist Friday afternoon and Jounouchi had to sit there for almost two hours as the two women fussed over him. As the clock approached five, he stood abruptly and announced he was going to go back to his hotel room to get ready on his own. It took him another hour to decide what to wear and when Sophie came in at about 5:30, he was still deliberating between five different outfits. The majority of his clothing was still back in LA, he didn't know how he managed to bring this much clothing with him anyway.

Together with Sophie, he decided on a burgundy-colored button-up shirt and a pair of freshly pressed black slacks that just came back from the cleaners.

"Where are you going tonight?" She asked.

He made sure he had taken care of all the arrangements for that night himself. He didn't want Sophie's help in this regard. "We're having dinner at Miyuki, I was able to snag a private room with them."

"Is he picking you up?"

No," he rolled his eyes. "We're going to meet down there. It'll seem less suspicious that way if someone does spot us."

"You've thought of everything, haven't you?"

"I sure as hell tried to." He fiddled nervously with the buttons on his shirt.

"You'll call if something happens?"

"Yes, mother. Seriously Sophie, it'll be fine. I promise I won't drink tonight. The worst that can happen is if Kaiba and I get into a brawl if he starts being his usual asshole self. It's not a matter of life and death."

They sat together in silence and watched TV until it was time for Jounouchi to go. She pressed a kiss to his cheek as he left- for good luck, she claimed. He ran a hand through his carefully styled blond hair as he crossed the lobby to catch the taxi cab waiting at the hotel's turnaround. The bellhop at the door led him over to the green vehicle sitting near the curb. As he slid into the backseat, the driver turned ever so slightly to ask, "Where are you going tonight, sir?"

"The Miyuki restaurant, do you know where that is?" He began to pull out his phone to retrieve the address in case.

The driver nodded and turned up the dial of the radio. Pulling out of the driveway, a familiar tune came on over the radio. It was a song that he vaguely recalled from his youth and had life been like any of the TV shows he's acted in, this is where the montage of flashbacks would take place. His phone rang instead with Shizuka's assigned ringtone, bearing a message wishing him luck from his sister and Honda.

Jounouchi turned his attention to the passing city outside his window. So lost in the sight of his hometown waking up to the night, he almost didn't notice they were driving in the wrong direction.

"Hey," he leaned forward in his seat as he addressed the driver. "You're heading in the wrong direction. Miyuki is downtown by the park."

The driver said nothing and sped through the next yellow light just as it turned red. A loud honk from another car trailed behind them.

"Are you listening to me?" He pounded on the glass partition between the driver and himself. When greeted with only further silence, he reached for his cellphone to call Sophie. But a sharp turn into an abandoned alleyway sent the phone flying out of his hand and onto somewhere on the vehicle floor. The car came to a stop as Jounuochi frantically undid the shoulder seat-belt and began feeling around on the floor.

The highbeam headlights from a van that pulled in behind them flooded the vehicle with a rush of light, blinding Jounouchi momentarily. When his eyes finally began to adjust to the brightness, he could see the shape of his cab driver get out of the car as he pulled something over his head. Two more men wearing black ski masks over their faces got out of the parked van. Jounouchi's body tensed in anticipation of the upcoming fight.

The "driver" wrenched the door open, waving a four-inch knife as he said, "Get out of the car and don't you dare struggle."

He did as he was told, watching carefully as the other two men continued to approach from the van. Jounouchi grabbed the hand holding the knife and twisted it back, causing the first attacker to scream in pain and drop the weapon. Letting go, he punched the man in the face and sent him staggering back. Behind him, he could hear the two other guys from the van run toward him. Jounouchi barely dodged one of the charging bodies. At least he had the sense they didn't have a gun, because they would have threatened him with it by now. He ducked under the last attacker's arm and raced toward the entrance of the alley; he was going to escape. Part of him wanted to stay and teach them a lesson- because Jounouchi Katsuya wasn't easily defeated by amateurs.

The van doors opened again before he could pass and yet another body slammed into him and held him against the brick wall of the adjacent building. This latest assailant wasn't wearing a mask like the others- his face just barely visible in the passing headlights from the cars on the main road just a hundred feet away. And Jounouchi knew that face...

"Didn't expect to see me again, did you, boy?" His father's eyes were bright and clear with a sobriety Jounouchi had never seen before.

His father's fist, still as hard and as heavy as ever, landed a blow across Jounouchi's face- knocking his head against the brick wall and sending his world plummeting into darkness.

...

Kaiba's watch reaffirmed what he already knew from the clock hanging on the wall of the private room that Jounouchi reserved: it was nearly eight. He picked up his phone and dialed the blond's number, only to have it go straight to voicemail for the fifth time. He didn't bother leaving a message this time.


	13. Track 11- The Sound of Silence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning(s): Mentions of past child abuse, &amp; spoilers for Waking the Dragons/Doma arc

_A moment ago, I had been floating along next to Yugi and an unconscious Kaiba in the river of captured souls and the next moment, I'm staring at a metal ceiling overhead. My back was screaming in a way that suggested I'd spent the night on a park bench or something. I sat up- joints popping as I stretched my body out. Looking around, I realized I was sitting inside some sort of military vehicle like the ones in movies._

_"Hello?" My words echoed through the hollow metal interior._

_Two men in dark suits and sunglasses came rushing up the ramp at the end of the vehicle. It took me a moment, but I recognized them both as employees of Kaiba from Battle City._

_"Jounouchi-san, you're awake!" Isono, the only one I actually knew the name of the two, exclaimed._

_The other man lifted a walkie talkie to his mouth, static crackling loudly as he opened the channel. "Seto-sama, Jounouchi-san is awake!"_

_There was only more static coming from the other end. Out of frustration, the man smacked the gadget hard against his palm and tried again without further luck._

_Isono was staring out one of the windows at the tossing sea and darkened sky. "It must be the storm, some type of electromagnetic interference."_

_I could hear thunder rumble in the distance. The ever decreasing gap between thunder and lightning told me the storm was coming our way. I grabbed my Duel Disk sitting on the bench next to me- its panels lighting up as I strapped it back on my arm. I wasn't going to sit around and wait to see what happened. I needed to know if Kaiba and Yugi were okay. After all, I had seen them along with Pegasus and Mai and the other captured souls before the light and the voice booming in my head had pulled me back into my body._

_"Return to us, chosen Duelists." A trio of familiar voices had called._

_As I reached the bottom of the ramp, the gang emerged from under the darkness of the temple. Honda, Yugi, and Anzu were trying to juggle an unconscious Raphael between them. Kaiba, the arrogant ass, was strolling along beyond them and not bothering to lend a hand._

_"Yugi, you're okay!" I waited until Kaiba's men relieved them of their human burden before grabbing him in a firm but manly embrace._

_"Jounouchi, you bastard, you had us so fucking worried!" Honda took hold of both me and Yugi, and soon Anzu joined in on the group hug._

_Kaiba showed no outward signs of having experienced anything out of the ordinary. But the way Mokuba stood ever so closer to his brother than usual told me that I hadn't imagined Kaiba's presence in that other strange world; that his soul had been captured like mine and Yugi's before the light pulled all of us back._

_I looked to the soulless body of Raphael and frowned. "We're the only ones that made it back, huh? Mai and the others are still trapped."_

_"But Yami defeated Dartz." Honda furrowed his brows in deep concentration._

_I was about to say something encouraging when the ground beneath us started to shake. Yugi was thrown back and Anzu had reached out to steady him, somehow managing to keep her balance in two-inch platform heels. The waters around the island began to churn and toss even more than before as a loud and low rumble filled the air. I stared in amazement as a spot of stone rose out of the ocean some hundreds of yards in front of us. The rock rose higher in the air, instead revealing itself to be a stone steeple seated on an entire landmass. Water poured over the tiered walls of concentric circles like great waterfalls._

_"What is that?" Mokuba stared at it with wide eyes._

_"Could it be Atlantis?" Yugi's attention, like the rest of ours, was completely focused on the floating island still raising into the sky. "The dark god that Dartz worshiped must still be alive. Then everyone's souls..."_

_I narrowed my eyes in determination. It wasn't just Mai and Varon that were in danger- I had seen the multitudes of souls trapped in that other world with my own eyes. "We need to stop Dartz, his god, whatever- we need to help those people."_

_"The only way we're going to settle this is by going there." Kaiba announced._

_"How the hell are we supposed to do that?" Honda yelled._

_"We could try taking the helicopter there." Mokuba suggested._

_"Wait," Yugi interrupted us before we could move toward the vehicle. "There may be a faster way to get there. Dartz disappeared into that portal. We should be able to get there through it too. I'm going."_

_"But Yugi," Anzu's hands tightened their grip around Yugi's shoulder. "It took us so long to get everyone back. What if we were never his match to begin with?"_

_"We have to do this. We can't just turn our back on everyone else who needs us."_

_It was times like this that I always wondered who was really the braver of the two: Yugi or Yami. My chest swelled with pride for my friend and his determination. "_

_And I'm going too." I moved closer to Yugi._

_"Seto-sama," Isono called as he hung in the doorway of the cockpit with the pilot's headset still pressed against one ear. "I've just received news that a massive tidal wave will wipe out most cities on the East coast in just an hour."_

_I could see Kaiba watching the scene unfolding with his ever critical gaze. What was going through that head of his? Was he considering cutting his losses and backing out now? Kaiba had never been one to give up, but never has our situation been this dire before. My eyes fell on Mokuba at his side- the one thing I could tell was worth more than winning to Kaiba. His eyes met mine, and I felt stupid for having doubted his resolve for even a second. Kaiba never gave up, and if he needed to pluck down the fucking moon, he would do it._

_"What are you idiots waiting for? We're wasting time." He turned with a violent swing of his white trenchcoat._

_I smiled to myself, breaking into a jog to keep up with the taller boy's longer stride. "I told you the white one was much better."_

_"Quiet, bonkotsu, no one asked for your fashion advice." He snapped._

_Behind us, I could hear Anzu telling Mokuba to let us go and have faith that we would succeed. The words Yugi then exchanged with Anzu were quickly lost to us as we made our way further into the darkness of the temple. Despite all the wind and waves roaring outside, the inside was completely silent, save the sound of our footsteps. The air was stale and heavy, as if it was still the very air from the day the temple was first built._

_Hugging my arms around myself, I commented to no one in particular, "This place is creepy as hell."_

_Kaiba continued on ahead and I followed, assuming he would lead us to where we needed to go. Looking back into the darkness behind us, I strained to hear any signs of Yugi approaching. I couldn't hear anything and just hoped he would join us sooner, rather than later._

_And I needed to talk to fill the eerie silence. "I never figured my first trip to America would be like this. At least we didn't have to pay to come over here, though Pegasus sure owes us a real vacation after dragging us into all this. Uh, so how's the amusement park coming?"_

_"You never shut up." It was a quiet sort of observation._

_"So sue me, I'm a people person." I shrugged but was happy with another voice to combat the quiet._

_We came to a stop at the center of a circular stone chamber. Its wall, ceiling, and floor were completely covered in full-bodied portraits of people of all age, gender, and time. A shimmering blue portal stood at the center of the room. I shivered as the torches crackled in the background._

_"What is this place?" I asked._

_"These are all the souls that Dartz and his men captured."_

_"But there are so many! Was I up there somewhere?" I took a step closer to the wall behind the portal, squinting because I thought I saw the images of Mai and Varon on the wall._

_Kaiba grabbed my arm and directed me to another portion of the wall. He pointed to an empty square and said, "You were there."_

_I looked up at him in surprise. My heart was racing because he had yet to let go of my arm. The warmth that rushed through my body and my face must have been evident. I gestured wildly to the stone walls and tried to distract myself from the implications. "How the hell did you find me in all of that?"_

_Kaiba ignored my question, as he always did at his own damn convenience. "Why didn't you call me when things started to go bad?"_

_"I don't know about you, but there aren't exactly payphones in the middle of the desert and we don't exactly have satellite phones like some people. You seemed perfectly happy running off and doing your own thing anyway."_

_I tried to loosen myself from his grip, and instead his hand moved down to hold my fingers. I marveled at how soft and smooth his hand was in comparison to mine. As my thumb rubbed over his, I think that's when Kaiba finally noticed he was still holding my hand. But he didn't let go as we both stared down at our intertwined hands, waiting for the other to break away first. When Yugi came into the room, we both let go of each other abruptly. Yugi didn't say anything, but I knew he had seen us. I can't say if I was glad or disappointed that his reappearance had cut the moment short._

-x-x-x-

Rebecca thanked the housekeeper for the cup of coffee. The woman simply bowed in return and sleepily shuffled off to return to her bed. If the Kaibas didn't always have to get the most expensive and convoluted gizmos, she wouldn't have had to wake the poor woman in the middle of the night. It was at least very good coffee.

The clock told her it was almost approaching two in the morning. There was still no sign of Seto. She glared down at her mug- at least someone in the household had a good evening. Her time in Japan was almost up. She had a lot to do once she got back to the lab and a presentation to prepare for the upcoming Human Factors and Ergonomics Society conference.

Arguing with Mokuba was a regular enough occurrence, she just wished it wasn't always over the same damn subject. He had no idea how hard it had been to get a post-doc position at the same university her grandfather had tenure at. She would have been a much better fit with Carnegie Mellon or the MIT Media Lab; the University of Cambridge wasn't particularly famous for its robotics or human-computer interaction program. She wanted to be with her grandpa, especially after the recent passing of Mutou Sugoroku...

"You don't have to choose. If only you would just stop being stubborn and take Nii-sama's job offer, you'd have more than enough money to help your grandfather retire comfortably to Japan." Mokuba had said.

"Has it occurred to you that my grandfather doesn't want to retire? He loves his research! And I don't want to give up mine either! I'm making a difference in my work." She snapped in return and the rest of the evening was shot to hell from that point on.

So wrapped up in her frustration with her boyfriend, she didn't notice the brother of said boyfriend enter the kitchen. She almost dropped her mug when he asked, "What are you still doing up so late?"

"Jesus, Seto, don't you make noise before entering a room?" She took a big gulp of her drink, as if it would help calm her already agitated nerves. "You're real late. I'm assuming your not-date went well then."

"I wouldn't know. The bonkotsu never showed for our appointment." His words were curt and short, but full of enough ice to freeze the entire mansion.

Seto in his "destroy-all-human mode a la Terminator", as she dubbed it, was a chilling and terrifying sight. She didn't like to guess what had gone on between him and Jounouchi in the past, but she had heard her fair share of stories from the others. She maneuvered around the steel-topped kitchen island to stand next to her boyfriend's brother, but moved cautiously as she knew anything was capable of setting off Seto at the moment. He stood completely rigid against the backdrop of pans and other cookware hanging over the island, as if daring the world to do him further wrong.

"Where were you all night then?" She took a cautious sniff of the air, searching for the telltale scent of alcohol.

"I was at the office all night." He snapped.

She stared up at him with eyes widening in surprise. "Are you serious? Most people go out and get drunk after being stood up. They don't go back to their office to work."

He glared down at her and folded his arms over his chest. "I'm not most people."

She placed a tentative hand on his forearm and breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't immediately throw her hand off. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Seto stared blankly at the tiled floor for a moment that seemed to drag on. "No, I'm going to bed."

She watched him go with a slight sigh. She set the half-empty mug on the countertop and decided to go see if Mokuba was willing to be less of an ass. There would be time to hunt down and skin Jounouchi tomorrow.

-x-x-x-

Kaiba was hard at work when Sophia barged into his office, huffing and puffing and trying to make herself look big and intimidating. She was a bit like a cat. Right, he was supposed to be hard at work, trying to ignore the sting of Jounouchi's betrayal last night. Sachiko was busy bowing and apologizing for failing to keep the other woman from entering. He stopped Sachiko and told her to go back outside.

"Where is he?" She demanded.

"I have no idea." He answered truthfully.

Her expression was becoming more and more panicked by the second. Perhaps he had been wrong when he had thought her to be of sturdier stock. "But he said he was having dinner with him last night. You must know where he is."

"He never showed up." The feeling of abandonment was returning in full despite his best efforts. "Have you asked the others?"

"Yugi's called everyone and no one's seen him." She started pacing back and forth across his office.

He couldn't contain the bitterness welling up inside of him anymore. "Maybe he ran off again, wouldn't be the first time." He finished with a dark mutter.

"No," she snapped. "Katsuya wouldn't do that."

He raised his gaze to challenge her. "And I suppose you know better."

Her defiant expression reminded him all too much of the blond's. "In fact, I do."

The sound of her cellphone ringing broke the tension of their stand-off. She pulled out the tiny device and he watched as the relief washed over her face. He turned back to his computer screen- it must be Jounouchi.

"I'm going to have your skin for the scare you gave me and everyone else!" She screamed into the receiver.

Kaiba's senses perked. The desperate relief that had been there just seconds ago was gone again. The terse silence that followed reminded him of those few seconds of terror that his former employees always seemed to have right before he fired them.

The fear was absent from her face though and all Kaiba could make out was fury. "Wait, how do I know he's still okay? Hello? Hello?"

It appeared that the person on the other end, who was probably not Jounouchi, had hung up. She ripped the phone away from her ears and stared at its screen; her hands shaking and knuckles white.

Perhaps that fear he had detected before had been entirely his own...

"They say they have Katsuya and that I should be ready to hand over two million US dollars if I ever want to see him again."

-x-x-x-

For Jounouchi, the world came into focus accompanied by a wave of pain and darkness. He shivered at the cold cement pressed against his cheek and the chilly April air nipping his bare feet. He tried to sit up, only to find his hands had been bound behind his back. Testing the strength of the bounds though, it didn't appear he would be getting out of them without someone's help. After a few moments of rolling about, he managed to move himself into an upright sitting position. He could still feel the cold bleeding through his pants.

It looked like he was in a warehouse of some sort. He could see the fading light of the day through the broken windows lining the walls. And his father... his father was nowhere in sight.

Jounouchi glared at his bare feet. They, whoever they were, had taken his shoes. But he wasn't going to let that stop him. He lurched forward, trying to compensate for the shift in his center of gravity. As he rose slowly to his feet though, one of his captors emerged around a stack of boxes to his left and shoved Jounouchi back to the ground. A fist across his jaw sent him reeling back and gasping in pain.

"You're not going anywhere."

It took three long blinks to clear his vision. His gaze was automatically drawn to the man standing at the back of his group. "Friends in low places as usual, huh, dad?"

A swift kick to his stomach made it hard for him to smirk at the father he hadn't seen in twelve years. A hand reached out and grabbed his hair, pulling his face up to meet the partially obscured gaze of one of his captor. He wanted to laugh. Everything was just so goddamn scripted, like something out of the dramas he used to work as a stunt double on.

"Maybe we should cut out his tongue first." Jounouchi Tanaka suggested.

"No," the apparent leader of the three masked men snarled and his grip loosened. "We need him in one piece, otherwise we can kiss our paycheck goodbye."

"Really, you're even holding me for ransom?" Jounouchi snorted. "You guys are really playing it by the books."

He received another kick for his troubles. Jounouchi could already hear Kaiba berating him in his head: _You idiot, just wait for your chance_. Compared to him, Kaiba was the kind of man that played it safe.

He ignored the pain in his scalp as stands of hair tangled between his captor's fingers were torn loose. They had made the mistake of not binding his feet as well. His body remembered even though he had hadn't practiced in years.

"Shit!" One of his captors moved back as Jounouchi landed on his feet perfectly.

Tanaka made no move to help his accomplices and perhaps seemed entertained by Jounouchi's attempt to resist.

The odds were not in his favor even if his hands weren't tied together. Two of the men pulled out knives and he soon realized his option was to surrender or die. They could still easily negotiate a ransom and get it if he was killed at this point.

"Okay, I give. I promise I won't make anymore trouble." Jounouchi lowered himself back onto the cold ground.

"Good," the leader snarled. "Now tie his feet too and lock him in one of the back offices."

-x-x-x-

The board conference room down the hall from Kaiba's office transformed into a war room within half an hour of that first call. Shizuka had received a similar phone call from Jounouchi's number, so both she and Honda were pounding on his office door before long. Because Kaiba Seto was clearly the man to dump all of your problems on.

"We need to call the police right now." Shizuka told the group.

"No," Sophia shook her head adamantly. "They said explicitly not to do that. I am not going to risk Katsuya's life for the help of some incompetent cops."

The two women glared at each other across the length of the table. It looked like neither of them were going to back down from their position.

"Isn't there the bigger issue of the money? Two million US dollars is a lot of money. We can always worry about catching the bastards after Jounouchi is safe and sound." Honda was fidgeting with his cellphone.

Sophia glared down at her iPhone before making a few swipes across its screen. "They've severely overestimated Katsuya's worth. He barely got a hundred thousand for his latest role. That's the cost of media inflation, I guess. I'm afraid with this short of a notice, we're looking at two hundred and fifty thousand from me and Katsuya. If we can buy about another week, I may be able to borrow up to a million."

Shizuka just stared down at the table. "I have all of one million three hundred thousand yen in saving (2)."

Kaiba knew Honda and Shizuka had already sunk a fair amount of money into their wedding.

"Fuck," Sophia cursed loudly. "We can't even raise a half a million."

"They'll call back." Honda glanced over at the large clock hanging on the wall. "We can try and negotiate with them then, convince them to let us pay what's within our means."

The others stopped to watch him when he finally stood to reach the conference phone at the head of the table. Kaiba dialed the extension for his brother's office.

"Mokuba speaking." His younger brother chirped brightly.

"Mokuba, I need Ito here within the hour with two million American dollars from my personal account prepped under contingency JMP. Tell him to liquidate holdings if he needs to do so to get the amount now." He knew he had more than enough in to cover the amount, but a large portion of it was probably tied up in his portfolio at the moment.

"Wait, Nii-sama, contingency JMP? What's going on-"

He disconnected the call before Mokuba could ask any additional questions. All at once, the others jumped on him.

"Kaiba, I don't need your help."

"Kaiba-san, that's far too much. I can't possibly let you do that after everything you've done for us so far."

"Enough!" He roared, causing the other three to back up in surprise. "Honda is right. We should just do as they ask right now and have the money ready. We can bring the police in later. You," he pointed at Sophia. "Come with me. I'm taking you to Mokuba to sort out the money. Then Honda and I will see if there's anything we can do to track Jounouchi down while we wait for the kidnappers to call again."

She thankfully followed him out of the room without further argument. He waited until they were alone in the elevator, where he pushed the stop button and brought the box to a screeching halt. As he cornered her at one end of the elevator, she raised her fists and tried to give off the impression she was trained. But he knew better, she had no formal martial art training- she was a street brawler like Jounouchi.

"Is this your doing?" He had neither the time nor inclination to bother with subtlety.

She narrowed her eyes as evidence of her anger and indignation. "Are you suggesting I did this to Katsuya? I will kick your ass from here to LA even if you two are an item now."

"Whether it's directly or indirectly a consequence of your actions, I don't care. Given your past, I can't take any chances."

"Ran a background check on me, did ya? That was all in the past, I was young and stupid." She folded her arms over her chest.

Most people, no matter how "young" and "stupid," didn't warrant a dedicated file and scrutiny from both an Oakland PD's gang task force and Hong Kong's Organized Crime and Triad Bureau.

"Yet the Hong Kong police named you as a person of interest in a money laundering investigation just six years ago."

"And I was cleared of all suspicion." But she had broken their shared gaze as she spoke.

He slammed a fist into the wall next to her head and watched with satisfaction as her eyes widened ever so slightly. "If you take even a step out of line, I will remove you from the picture entirely. You will not put Jounouchi in any further danger by indebting him to certain types of people."

"Crystal clear," she snapped. "But don't you dare underestimate me, Kaiba Seto."

-x-x-x-

Kaiba didn't have to fire his account manager, for the harried man was escorted into the building by his security team with a briefcase full of money. Ito had long learned to stop asking questions about sudden and last-minute requests. The briefcase and its content were immediately sent down to his R&amp;D department for prep. Upon returning to the "war room," he found that Mokuba and Malik had joined the party. Someone had requested a whiteboard in the room and Honda and Sophia were working out the timeline around Jounouchi's kidnapping.

"When did you get to the restaurant?" Honda looked over at him with a dry erase marker poised over the board.

"Six forty-five." Kaiba grumbled in return.

Ten minutes later, they were joined by Bakura and Rebecca. Had Anzu not been so close to her due date, Kaiba had no doubt that she, Yugi, and the Pharaoh would also be here. They instead settled for video-conferencing in. He hoped that Jounouchi appreciated the fact the entire group had just put their life on hold for him.

At the end of the workday, the kidnappers had yet to call again, but they had the beginning of a plan. Rebecca managed to wire both Shizuka's and Sophia's phone to help track the origin of a call with a Kaiba Corp communications satellite. In the meanwhile, she would also try to locate Jounouchi's cellphone. Bakura, armed with notes from a forensics psychologist he knew, coached the two women on what to say when the kidnappers finally did call again. Malik scoured the internet and social media for any news or sighting of Jounouchi to confirm that the blond had really been taken and wasn't just playing hooky somewhere.

He and Honda were currently staring at the white board and the large red circle around the half an hour between 6:30 and 7PM last night.

"It's the most likely time, if he never made it to the restaurant. Which means he was either taken outside of the hotel, en route, or outside of the restaurant. We should call both the restaurant and the hotel to see if anyone saw anything." Honda tapped the marker against the board.

When Kaiba opened his mouth to speak, Mokuba chose that moment to barge in the conference room. He was waving a small stack of papers as he declared, "I got it, I have the information on Jounouchi's taxi driver from last night."

"How did you do that?"

"I just asked nicely." Mokuba spread the papers across the tabletop. "Anyway, Maruyama Jun is the name of the driver that took Jounouchi's request. He started working for the taxi company just two weeks ago and guess who didn't come in for their shift today? I had our guys pull what information they could. And I managed to hack the LoJack network with the tracking information I got from the operator and found where his cab is."

Kaiba snatched up the page with a map printout. "Honda, you're coming with me!"

-x-x-x-

Jounouchi supposed he should be grateful for the fact they didn't also gag him. His stomach growled loudly- he had lost track of time since they put him in the office with no windows, but he guessed it must be dinnertime again and he hadn't eaten lunch, breakfast, or dinner the previous night.

"At this rate, I'm going to die of hunger before you guys get your money!" He shouted to the empty room.

He flexed his hands tied in front of him. They had at least changed the arrangement of his hands so that he could make use of the bucket stashed in the corner of the room to relieve himself. Not the most ideal of situations, but at least he was stuck wetting himself. Sighing, he leaned back against the wall they first propped him up against hours ago.

With nothing better to do to pass the time, he settled on reciting lines.

"O cunning enemy, that, to catch a saint,  
With saints dost bait thy hook! Most dangerous  
Is that temptation that doth goad us on  
To sin in loving virtue: never could the strumpet,  
With all her double vigor, art and nature,  
Once stir my temper; but this virtuous maid  
Subdues me quite. Even till now,  
When men were fond, I smiled and wonder'd how (1)."

Shakespeare was not his strong suit. He was not a classically trained as an actor, but this little monologue was what had impressed the executive producer of _Touch the Moon_ and landed him his first major role. Figures he would owe the start of his career to that bastard Kaiba, sorta...

One of the masked men, who looked like the driver from the shape, strolled into the room with Chinese takeout containers. He was followed by the leader with a cellphone pressed against one ear and a boxy device pressed against the phone's microphone. The words that sounded were completely different from the voice he had heard earlier- a voice changer. "We will text you the location and time of the drop-off tomorrow. Remember, if you call the police, we will terminate him. You may speak to him now."

The driver took the phone offered and held it up against Jounouchi's ear, refusing to let him hold the device itself. "If you say too much..." The threat didn't need to be completed.

"Hello?"

"Katsuya, are you okay?" Sophie's voice came over the line.

"I'm okay for now. They're even going to feed me, I think." He eyed the food hungrily. "So how much am I worth anyway?"

"Two million dollars apparently."

He whistled. The only time he ever had that much money on his person was the prize money from Duelist Kingdom that he had used to pay for Shizuka's surgery. He had nowhere near that much now and wasn't sure he ever would.

"Onii-chan, we'll get you back." Shizuka's voice made his heart constrict painfully. "Kaiba-san-"

His captor took the phone away before he could hear the rest of the sentence. Yet the very mention of Kaiba Seto sparked a flame of rebellion in his belly. He tried to stand despite his bound feet. "I'm in a warehouse, I think it's-"

He was cut off by a swift kick in the gut.

The leader was back on the phone with the voice changer. "Remember, be ready with the money and don't try anything funny." He hung up and handed the phone to the driver. "Now get rid of that and don't just throw it into the ocean."

The driver placed the food on the floor before heading to the door. The leader squatted down and grabbed Jounouchi by the hair. "Oh, you're going to pay for that little outburst of yours."

-x-x-x-

The coordinates from the cab's anti-theft device led Kaiba and Honda to an alleyway about half-a-mile away from Jounouchi's hotel. The green vehicle was abandoned with its doors unlocked and its keys still in the ignition. Kaiba wrenched open the door and slid into the driver's seat- Honda did the same in the front passenger seat. The two men stared forward at the brick wall that rendered the alley a dead-end, both minds racing to absorb every detail and pick up on any clue. Honda pulled down the employee ID for the taxi company that was pinned to the dashboard.

"This is the car. Maruyama Jun. I should see if any of my police contacts can do me a favor and run him through the system. In the meanwhile, we have a photo to start looking for one of the culprits." Honda pocketed the card in his coat jacket and pulled out his cellphone.

Kaiba quickly tuned out the conversation next to him. He doubted the police could give them more information on top of what Kaiba's security people had pulled, but he knew the attempt would at least make Honda feel useful.

The cab had been left behind, probably because the kidnappers knew about the anti-theft system built in. The question now was where did they take Jounouchi to? The other building in the surrounding area were mostly stores and smaller office buildings, none of which were very good locations for holding a hostage. The area got too much foot traffic during the day and was still pretty busy during the evening hours before the shops closed.

He looked in the rear-view mirror and watched as the cars passed on the main road beyond the alley. The light of the setting sun glinted off the shiny surface of the something sitting in the backseat. He twisted around in the driver's seat and plucked the cellphone off the seat. Kaiba flipped the device over in his hand and found it mostly intact other than for some superficial scratches that came from daily wear and tear.

Honda watched as Kaiba turned on the phone. The seconds it took for the device to power on seemed like an eternity, especially with the Red Eyes Black Dragon phone charm swinging on the phone like a pendulum. On the home screen, a message alerted him to thirty missed calls. Scrolling through the call history, he spotted the outgoing calls to Sophia and Shizuka at the top of the list and then the long string of missed calls from himself, Sophia, Yugi, and Honda.

"This is Jounouchi's cellphone." Honda said what they both already knew. "I guess we can tell Rebecca to stop looking for it then."

Kaiba climbed out of the vehicle and slammed the car door- the loud sound resonating off the surrounding brick walls. He looked down at the cellphone clutched between his fingers that was filled to the brim with missed call notifications, unread text messages, and unheard voicemails.

"Damn it, Jounouchi!"

With a growl of frustration, he slammed his fists on top of the car. Kaiba was rewarded only with sore hands, a new crack etched across the screen of Jounouchi's phone, and just the smallest smidgen of satisfaction. It hardly seemed worth the effort.

"What do we do now?" Honda asked.

Kaiba, for all his genius, was at a loss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1) An monologue by the character of Angelo from the Shakespearean play, Measure for Measure, the play that was being studied in this story's prequel, Red As Fire.
> 
> (2) That translates into roughly $15000 American dollars.


	14. Track 12- Echoes

_A week after the fight with Dartz, I found my mind wandering in the direction of Yugi and his rag-tag team. In the aftermath of the battle on Atlantis, we went our separate ways after returning to Miami. With the opening day of KaibaLand USA so close, Mokuba and I needed to get back to California as soon as possible. My brother had offered to give the rest of them a ride back as well, but they declined. They were going to make their way west in the Hopkins' little RV and "take in the sights." For that week we spent apart, I was far too busy to even think about Jounouchi as I juggled the theme park's opening and buying back the rest of the stock from Doma's corporate takeover of my company. Not surprising either was the fact our stock price had hit an all-time low._

_As for the organization of the KC Grand Prix and the other Duel Monsters tournaments that were to take place in conjunction with the park's opening, I was forced to delegate a majority of its planning to Isono and Mokuba._

_"Don't worry, Nii-sama." My brother puffed out his chest in pride. I knew he had done a lot to alleviate the immense workload for me. "Soon all anyone will be able to talk about is our new KaibaLand and the Grand Prix. Our stock prices are bound to go up then!"_

_"How is the online registration coming along?" I turned to Isono._

_Isono, the only man to work almost as much as I do, wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief. I made a mental note to send him away on a mandatory paid leave after this was all said and done. "Three S ranked and three A ranked duelists have confirmed their participation in the Grand Prix. We've made travel arrangements for those that have RSVP'ed. Both of the smaller Hobby League tournaments are full, as well as the California Regional Tournament taking place later this week."_

_"Good."  
_

_"Seto-sama, what about Mutou Yugi and them? Do you think they'll come?" Isono flipped through the various pages in his clipboard._

_I smirked and folded my hands together. "Of course they will. They still owe me for last week."_

_"I'll take care of it then, Seto-sama." Isono bowed to signal his intention to leave.  
_

_I noticed that Mokuba had just barely rolled his eyes. My brother hopped to his feet and ran over to the older man. "I'll come with you, Isono. They won't be able to back out then."_

_At that moment, I was finally satisfied with the course of events. As long as the tournaments went off without a hitch, we would no doubt recover from the unfortunate encounter with Doma. But like so many other things (especially things that called for the involvement of Mutou Yugi and Jounouchi Katsuya), the tournament did not go smoothly. The fact that someone, even someone like Siegfried von Schroeder, had hacked my systems on more than one occasion infuriated me to no end. And then there was that brat, Rebecca Hopkins, who blew through the backdoor of the system with ridiculous ease... I was going to have to fire half the IT department after this mess, recode the base architecture, and do a complete systems overhaul myself after this latest mess._

_The evening reception after the first day of dueling was a different experience than the one that announced the start of the tournament. It was smaller and more intimate, organized by Mokuba to give the participating duelists and other VIP guests a chance to socialize with each other and other invitees. But as usual, I found these types of events both dull and mind numbing. I glared over to where Sieg was standing in the corner of the ballroom, pointedly ignoring everyone that tried to approach him. _ _Isono and his team were still busy trying to piece together the connection between Sieg Lloyd and the von Schroeder family. I was going to catch and expose that bastard._

_Before long, my attention was drawn back to Yugi and his cheerleaders. Rebecca, Anzu, and that Chinese duelist were hanging all over a horrified and possibly traumatized Yugi. The shorter boy kept looking desperately to where Jounouchi and Honda were polishing off the contents of the buffet table. Once in a while, one of them would just snicker and throw their besieged friend a thumbs-up when they weren't busy terrorizing the catering staff. Otogi was the only one making good use of his time by networking with other guests and duelists. And from across the room, Jounouchi and I caught each others' eye. He immediately broke off the gaze and stared hard at the plate full of food in his hand instead._

_I sighed, wishing again that Mokuba would at least keep me company. But he had run off to talk with that Leon Wilson boy instead. So much for brotherly solidarity._

_"Yo, Kaiba. You look dead on your feet."_

_I gave myself silent credit for not jumping at those words. The lack of regular sleep must have been catching up with me because I had no idea when Jounouchi managed to sneak up on me._

_"What do you want, Jounouchi?" I grumbled, suddenly feeling too tired to fight with him._

_He shrugged. "You're standing in the corner of the room by yourself. Since it's your party, I just thought you might actually socialize with people. Or at least fend off some overenthusiastic duelists."_

_I almost groaned at his words. "I've already had to deal with that Vivian Wong woman." Several encounters with the aforementioned duelists had required the physical intervention of my bodyguards for resolution.  
_

_He laughed and the mood lightened around us, if only a little. "You haven't even seen the little bitchfight she's been having with Rebecca all day. She was so determined to duel Yugi, that she lured Sugoroku-jii away and pretended to kidnap him."_

_"You could have reported her to security. She would have been disqualified." I frowned. _

_Why couldn't anyone in these tournaments just duel without the drama? If it wasn't a brainwashed gang trying to steal everyone's rare cards, it was the end of the world._

_"No biggie. She already lost to Rebecca at that point and Yugi easily won. Besides, it's nothing we couldn't handle!" He made that strange expression of his._

_Deciding that a change of topic was needed, I looked down at his admittedly impressive arrangement of food that stood almost half a foot on his plate. "I see that you've decided you can't beat me in a legitimate duel and are eating me out of house and home instead."_

_"Well, don't put out such great food then." He pointed a drumstick in my face and I crinkled my nose. "I gotta find a way to get Vivian to cook again though, that was the best Chinese food I ever had. I could eat seven bowls of that fried rice!"_

_"You're a pig. How do you manage to eat so much?" I asked because I was legitimately curious. More often than not, he had some type of food in hand when he wasn't busy dueling or cheerleading for Yugi._

_Jounouchi fell silent for a few moments, leaving me to wonder if I said anything wrong. "Force of habit, I guess. When my old man was still around, it was hard to say when my next good meal was going to be. Better to stuff myself than go hungry."_

_I could have kicked myself then. The issue of Jounouchi's father was probably still a sensitive one- even though the son of a bitch was behind bars where he belonged. No doubt, the bastard had been too busy throwing away any and all money on cheap booze to properly feed his own son._

_He shook his head violently, as if it would shake off the fit of melancholy that fell on him. "Besides, you gotta eat to have the strength for the next fight. I gotta get back to the others." He must have noticed Isono heading in our direction.  
_

_Jounouchi fished a handful of celery sticks from somewhere on his plate and shoved them into my hands. With nowhere else better to put them, I simply held onto them as he hurried away.  
_

_"Seto-sama, we have the report on Sieg Lloyd." Isono presented me with a small stack of papers._

_Transferring the celery into one hand, I took his report with my free hand. _ _For a moment, I considered just handing them to Isono to throw away, but Jounouchi's last words came to mind. I brought a stalk to my lips as I began scanning the results of Isono's report on Siegfried von Schroeder.  
_

-x-x-x-

Jounouchi tipped the container of rice and his head back, trying to finish the last of his meal without getting it all over his face. A spoon was only so useful when his hands were tied together. The darkness of the office he was being held prisoner in didn't help matters either.

He felt around on the floor for the bottle of water his captors had also left behind. The cool liquid caused his busted lips to sting like hell. All in all, his punishment for speaking out of line wasn't too bad. His ribs and back were sore from a few kicks, but it was worth it to protect his face. Like most other actors, his face was an asset to be protected at all cost. Black eyes would heal, but broken noses could not set properly and become crooked. Not to mention Sophie would have his ass for anything less...

He had gotten a better sense of his captors though. For all their posturing, they weren't really into the physical violence part. They beat him just enough to get the point across: to shut up, to sit down, to stop resisting... But that was about it. They seemed reluctant to go any further. They weren't like his old man, who had relished the violence. And thankfully, his father had yet to appear before him again since he first came to.

That was perhaps the most troubling part of this whole ordeal.

"Kaiba, you better find me before I die of boredom." He said out loud, even though no one would hear him.

Jounouchi was both comforted and worried by the idea that Kaiba was looking for him. If anyone out of the gang was to rescue him, he'd put his money on Kaiba. But he also knew how...intense Kaiba could get about this sort of thing.

When they first met Mokuba, Jounouchi felt nothing but pity for the kid. Back then, he felt pity for anyone that had to associate with the older Kaiba- himself included. Aside from that pesky detail about being in a coma, Jounouchi had been more than a little surprised when Kaiba first stormed onto Pegasus' island in a fit of rage and determination. Though he didn't approve of the underhanded tactic Kaiba used to gain entrance to Pegasus' castle, the scene of the other boy clinging to life by a desperate ploy of psychology more than convinced Jounouchi of Kaiba's single-minded drive to rescue Mokuba. And though he thought himself better than that, Jounouchi did wonder at times if he wouldn't have done the same for Shizuka.

Was Kaiba now searching for him with that same sort of suppressed desperation that Jounouchi so often saw in regard to Mokuba's safety?

Jounouchi'd like to think he was better than that- waiting like some damsel-in-distress in need of rescuing. He'd like to think he could find his way out of this mess on his own.

It was always nice to know that Kaiba cared.

"Even till now, when men were fond, I smiled and wonder'd how."

-x-x-x-

Perhaps even better than the others, Honda knew just how impossible it was to dissuade Kaiba once the CEO's mind was made up. Kaiba Seto also didn't know the meaning of subtlety if his life depended on it.

"Please just let me do the talking. If you say one wrong thing, you'll scare all of them and we'll be lucky to even get directions to the nearest bus stop." Honda hissed outside the entrance to the bar.

The dingy wooden interior spoke of better years long gone. It was obvious from the wrinkle on Kaiba's nose that he did not approve of the surroundings. All eyes were on them as soon as they entered through the door. It was only expected with the way Kaiba stank so obviously of money. It was going to be a wonder if they got around the block without an attempted mugging.

As they passed the bar, Honda asked the bartender. "Is Abe-san in the backroom?"

The bartender just nodded and returned to cleaning glasses.

The backroom that Honda then lead them into was slightly less worse for wear. A mahjong table with tiles thrown haphazardly across its surface sat in the corner of the room. A man in his fifties with rapidly graying hair sat behind the broken desk in the center.

"Abe-san." Honda came to a stop in front of the desk and bowed. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw that Kaiba made no attempt at the courtesy.

"Honda-kun, I thought you were off the beat now with that cushy desk job. Or are you just on the verge of a particularly juicy story?" The older man's eyes sparkled as he spoke.

"You could say that. I need to know if there's been talk of any kidnap and ransom jobs."

"And this is current?" Abe's facial expression darkened.

Honda couldn't help but flinch under that gaze. "Yes."

Abe stood abruptly, causing Kaiba to make movements to prepare a physical defense. Honda glared at the CEO and silently willed him to back down. Abe was not going to hurt them, there was only so much a man his age could do. But Kaiba always was the paranoid bastard...

"Honda-kun, you know I won't talk to you about anything the police hasn't already closed on. That was our deal. You can't pay me enough to protect me from the scum out there. It's the only reason they put up with me besides the cheap booze."

"And yet you still serve the people you call scum?" Kaiba spoke for the first time and Honda really wished he'd kept his mouth shut.

Abe reached over to grab the walking cane that had been leaning on the side of the desk and hobbled over to them. "For those of us not born with a silver spoon in our mouth, Kaiba-sama, a scum's money is still money and it'll pay for rent and food." He redirected his glare at Honda to emphasize his point. "I don't snitch to cops and I don't snitch on jobs that haven't bombed."

Honda tried his best not to stare at the mangled leg that left Abe limping for the last fifteen years. "I know, but I'm desperate for any leads. This isn't for a story, but I'll pay you triple, quadruple our usual price." He was incredibly aware that his voice had taken on an edge of desperation.

"What could be so important that you would ask me to put my life on the line then?" The older man demanded.

"It's Jounouchi, he was the mark."

"Honda..." The warning was all too clear in Kaiba's tone.

"Shut it, Kaiba. Abe-san's known Jounouchi longer than you have." He growled in return.

But the stunned and concerned look on the older man's face must have been what convinced Kaiba. Jounouchi and he had known Abe for as long as they were considered old enough to be called to take Jounouchi's drunken father home from this very bar- which was about the time they were twelve years old. Abe had always had a particular soft spot for Jounouchi, and Honda was betting on that to gain him some leverage.

"That boy's always getting himself into trouble." Abe turned and hobbled back to his desk. "Things have been pretty quiet on the ransom front, and I don't think any of the yakuza families are in on it. We would have already known otherwise. There were rumors of some small-timers trying to pull a big job, some would even say a stupid job with a ridiculously high-profile public figure. But I don't have any other information other than that at the moment."

Honda felt his shoulders slump in disappointment. He knew Abe wouldn't lie to him. He pulled out a photo of Maruyama Jun and placed it down on the desk. "We think he may be one of the people involved. You'll let me know if you hear anything, right?"

Abe picked up the picture and stared at it for a few moments. Honda could sense that Kaiba was becoming more and more agitated by the second. He wished there was something he could do for the other man, knowing that Kaiba was perhaps the one most perturbed by Jounouchi's kidnapping. But Kaiba, the stubborn bastard, refused to show it and would work himself to the death to find Jounouchi if need be. Honda promised himself he'd drill it in for Jounouchi just how hard Kaiba had worked to find him **when** they finally got the blond back.

"I can tell you did," Abe's word brought Honda out of his reverie. "If Maruyama Jun is really involved in something as serious as this, his cousin, Yuichi, probably put him up to it first. Yuichi generally runs in the fraud and embezzlement racket, so kidnapping for ransom isn't too out of character of his M.O.- especially if he needs money. But Honda-kun, you and I both know this sort of job has to be planned very carefully, it doesn't just pop up out of nowhere. Hiding places and stolen cars have to be arranged for use, and a few dry runs for practice. They were probably watching Jounouchi-kun for a while before they took him. Maybe you should take a closer look at the people that have been around him lately."

-x-x-x-

It was almost midnight by the time they got back to Kaiba Corporation's main office building. The empty take-out containers and the smell of curry hanging in the conference room told Kaiba the group had Indian for dinner. He felt his own stomach rumble at the smell of food- reminding him that he hadn't had any food since breakfast. From the hungry look on Honda's face, the other man was experiencing similar hunger pains.

Kaiba took his seat at the head of the table where Malik passed him a container of jasmine rice and chicken curry. Honda immediately busied himself with a piece of naan even before taking a seat. Everyone at the table looked exhausted.

"So how did it go, Nii-sama?" Mokuba asked as he rubbed the shoulders of his girlfriend leaning against his side.

"We have a second name, but not much else to go by." He grumbled unhappily. "And the kidnapper's call?"

Rebecca pulled herself out of Mokuba's embrace and hit a button on her laptop. Kaiba listened carefully to the recording of the call between Sophia, Shizuka, and Jounouchi's captor- for any hint of where Jounouchi may be held. He narrowed his eyes at the sound of Jounouchi's words being cut off, most likely by someone physically lashing out. "Any luck tracing the call?"

Rebecca shook her head in disappointment. "They kept it too short and sweet. I couldn't triangulate the position any further than the general downtown and surrounding areas. The number itself belongs to a pre-paid cellphone bought second-hand."

"We'll have to wait until they send us the information about the drop-off. I have a security team briefed and on standby." Mokuba reported and Kaiba just nodded. He was grateful that his brother had already taken care of the hassle of getting a security team prepared. That alone would be worth more than the entire Domino police department.

What Abe had last said to them annoyed him deeply. It should have been the first question to ask Sophia and Shizuka: had anything out of the ordinary happened to Jounouchi lately? He was deeply familiar with the methodological and psychological processes around kidnapping for random- he had to be considering that both he and his brother were people of power and wealth. But he hadn't thought to ask them because of the emotional rollercoaster that followed after the first ransom call. Issues with Jounouchi always did seem to override his better judgment.

"To pull this off, they must have kept him under surveillance for some time. Has anyone noticed any strange new people or other strange happenings?" He asked the group.

Contrary to what most people thought, Kaiba was good at reading people- he needed to be in order to discern how his opponents were feeling in the boardroom. He wasn't all too surprised when he saw the quick downcast of Sophia's eyes to indicate she did know more than she was letting on. What did surprise him was the way Shizuka's eyes widened ever so slightly before she looked away from him.

"Shizuka?"

All eyes were on her at once, causing her to squirm in her seat. "It's nothing."

Kaiba decided to focus on Jounouchi's manager instead. He had warned Sophia about the repercussions of keeping things from him, especially if it concerned Jounouchi's safety. Unlike Shizuka whom he had faith in to tell them if she really did know something, Sophia Chang was the stubborn type of woman to take secrets to the grave just because she could. "Chang, I know you're hiding something. Don't forget what we talked about earlier."

This was the easy part. She was the outsider of the group- the one who everyone would not feel bad about harboring suspicions against. From the glare on her face, he knew that she knew that he had her cornered. If she was going to continue to take part in this little rescue attempt, she was going to have to give up her little secrets. With a snarl, she whipped out a thick folder from her over-sized purse. The contents of the folder spilled over the length of the table when she threw it down.

Kaiba picked up one of the sheets of papers that slid down to his end of the table. It was a old-fashioned death threat, entirely composed of characters cut out of newspapers and magazines. _You will pay for ruining my life._ He picked up another page containing a threat that had been written on the computer and printed from a laser-jet printer: _No one's going to miss you. You're nothing but a rat._

Bakura shuffled through the larger stack. "This is a lot. They're organized chronologically?"

Sophia nodded mutely.

"How long has this been going on? Why haven't you notified the police about this?" Bakura continued with his questioning as he read through a few more of the threats.

"We started getting them the first week we were in Domino. And I didn't call the police because it was none of their damn business. I've seen my share of celebrity stalkers in my time, I think I can handle it!" She folded her arms over her chest as she huffed indignantly.

"But this," Kaiba said as he held up a written threat. "Is not the work of a crazed fan. This is someone with a grudge. I should know."

"Hard not to when we get a dozen of these a month." Malik grumbled.

"Which is exactly why I didn't think this was relevant. I don't think anyone looking to kidnap Katsuya would give themselves away by sending something like this in the first place." Her glare challenged them to question, to attack her further. Kaiba was once again reminded of a cat by her defensive posture.

"There's nothing more we can do about it now." Bakura put the threats back into the folder.

Kaiba stood and snatched the folder from Bakura before he could hand them back to Sophia. "I'll hold onto these in the meantime." He could still feel her glare digging into the back of his head as he walked away.

-x-x-x-

Kaiba was perusing over the latest proposals submitted by the various groups in R&amp;D when Yugi came into his office the next morning. Even the workaholic he tended to be, he didn't usually spend Sunday at the office downtown. Though the group begrudgingly broke apart at 1AM to return to their separate homes and beds, there was the unspoken understanding they would meet again at Kaiba's office to continue their search for Jounouchi tomorrow. Unable to nap for more than an hour or two at a time, he gave up around sunrise and went into the office.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with your wife?" He brought a hand up to massage the bridge of his nose, wishing Sachiko was around to bring him some coffee.

"Anzu's mother is with her right now."

In their youth, the sudden deepening of the voice and the illusion of extra height signaled the presence of the former great Pharaoh. But as Yugi grew physically and mentally, the previous tells that gave away who was in control of the body became obsolete. Where before the presence of Yami had aged Yugi's features, it now instilled a sense of adolescent youth. So Kaiba, as did the others, had to adjust and seek out the more subtle differences: the most glaring of which was the way Yugi and Yami spoke Anzu's name.

"I'm surprised it took you this long to make your way down here. You never could keep your nose out of other people's business, especially if it involved danger." Kaiba set aside the reports before glancing at the time on his computer desktop. It was almost eight thirty.

"Jounouchi is an important friend. Yugi wants to help just as much as I do." Yami reached down to finger the Blue Eyes White Dragon paperweight on Kaiba's desk.

Kaiba stood, stretching as he did so. "Come with me to get some coffee and you can tell me exactly why you're here."

They walked in silence down the hall to the kitchenette by the conference room. The coffee in the pot was what was left of the brew from late last night. Unable to muster the energy to brew a fresh pot, Kaiba poured what was left of the content into a Styrofoam cup and placed it in the microwave for a minute. For a few moments, the room was silent, save the hum of the microwave.

"There is another way we could find Jounouchi." Yami said quietly. "But you're not going to like it, cousin."

He glared at the spirit for the very mention of their supposedly shared past. It was easy to see what Yami hoped to suggest. It was the only time that Yami felt the need to remind him of the priest that lived three thousand years ago. Kaiba looked down to glare at the heavy Millennium Puzzle hanging from the other man's neck. "If that's the case, why haven't you done it already?"

Yami caressed the Puzzle gently. "Unfortunately, I can't. The Puzzle is what maintains the gateway through which all other Millennium Items draw their magic. It gives me knowledge of those dark powers and allows me to manipulate the outcomes of chance. But try as I might, I can't find Jounouchi. Maybe if he had an Item with him I could. But there are too many minds in this modern world and too many other sources of power that interfere." The former king sounded frustrated by the end of his speech.

"Then why bring it up at all?" Kaiba growled. Though he had long accepted the extraordinary nature of Yami's existence and the powers that gathered around him, Kaiba didn't like being reminded of it- of something he had no hopes of controlling or understanding.

"I cannot, but Bakura may be able to. When he was still in possession of the Ring, Bakura's darker personality always had a knack for finding things." Yami's posture was completely stiff, probably because he knew exactly how Kaiba was going to react to the suggestion.

He wrenched open the microwave door to retrieve his coffee. Dipping a finger in, he found it to be only lukewarm. He snarled as he ripped into three packages each of sugar and cream. "You can't actually think that'll be safe. Every time one of you decides to play around with those things, something always goes wrong. Last time, Malik nearly took down the entire city's power grid. And whose to say Bakura won't have a relapse? I'm far too old now to take part in your mystical bullshit."

As much as he wanted to find Jounouchi, he wasn't sure the Items would be the best way. He had been witness to all the mishaps they had caused over the years. And he really wished Sachiko was working that day, because his coffee tasted like shit.

"Yes, the Items have gotten harder to use since we defeated Zorc, but we need to try for Jounouchi's sake. I don't understand why you are so determined to forsake your heritage. The Rod would most likely respond better to you than to Malik."

Kaiba crumpled the empty Styrofoam cup and tossed it in the trash. "I'm a technologist, Yami. Just because I must accept the truth of their power, doesn't mean I have to like it. I have my own ways of locating Jounouchi. You'll see."

Yami narrowed his eyes as he held Kaiba's unwavering gaze. "I just hope your hubris doesn't get Jounouchi killed."

-x-x-x-

Inconspicuous: that was what the security detail told him. Kaiba Seto was many things, but a wallflower was not one of them. And so he was stuck at the Domino Shopping Mall without his usual trappings. No impressive trenchcoats or ludicrously expensive tailored Italian suits, just an unassuming ensemble of a plain black turtleneck paired with slacks. He almost felt...naked...

The text messages containing information about the money drop-off came around lunchtime. Shizuka and Sophia was each told to take a million each in shopping bags and to deposit them near trash cans at two different ends of the mall. They were told to go alone or else...

From his vantage point on the second floor, Kaiba observed the crowd of shoppers that invaded the building that Sunday afternoon with great wariness. He could see Sophia weaving in and out of the crowd, impatiently checking the time on her cellphone. He pressed the talk button on the Bluetooth earpiece hanging on his lobe. Yami was watching Shizuka from a similar vantage point at the other end of the mall.

"Just leave the bag, Chang. Don't look over here and leave the mall. We'll take care of it," he hissed and glared daggers into the back of the woman's head.

On the floor below, her shoulders tensed and shook with poorly concealed rage. Taking one last look around her, she left the shopping bag leaning against the trash can outside of the hallway leading to the restrooms. Kaiba didn't relax until she was out the nearly exit and into the arms of the security team waiting in a van in the parking lot.

Pressing the talk button again, he asked. "Yami, how's Shizuka doing?"

The reply came immediately. "She just put the bag down and is on her way to meet up with Sophia and the others."

"Good, everyone hear that? Be on standby. If anyone approaches the bags, don't stop them. Let them take it and tail them discreetly. We need to be sure of where they're holding Jounouchi and his safety before we move in. I won't tolerate any mistakes." He barked, even though his security team didn't really need the reminder. He only hired the best of the best.

A chorus of "Yes, Seto-sama" sounded over the earpiece.

Kaiba checked the time on his watch- there was still a half an hour till the deadline the kidnappers had set for the drop-off. Even in the large crowd, he could pick out the members of the security team decked out in civilian dress. He only hoped they weren't so obvious to the kidnappers when they came to pick up the money. The minutes ticked by like hours instead and the mall only seemed to get more crowded as time passed.

"Any movement on your end?" Honda's voice came over the earpiece. The brunet man was walking around on the first floor of the mall and Kaiba approved of how he managed to stay out of sight. At least someone was able to blend in inconspicuously with a crowd- which was more than he could say for Yami and some of the security team.

According to Kaiba's watch, another fifteen minutes passed without anything happening. He caught himself as he began tapping on the railing he was leaning against.

Honda's voice over the conference call said exactly what Kaiba was thinking. "This wait is killing me."

Yami started to say something over the line when their potential conversation was cut short. For a second, everyone in the mall came to a complete standstill as the shrill sound of the fire alarm rang throughout the building.

"Everyone, hold your position." Kaiba barked as some of the shoppers started moving toward their nearest exit.

"Uh, Kaiba-"

"Don't, it may be a false alarm set off by the kidnappers." He clutched the railing until his knuckles turned white.

"Kaiba, look toward the middle of the mall. It's not a false alarm." Yami said with absolute calm.

Begrudgingly, he looked down the length of the mall where plumes of black smoke rose into the air. He wasn't the only person to notice that little fact as several cries of "Fire!" came from the crowd of shoppers and everyone began moving more urgently toward the exits. The mall rent-a-cop fell swiftly on groups of onlookers that stood around to take pictures with their camera phones, herding them toward the nearest doors.

"Don't move and keep visual on the money." He commanded over the earpiece as the crowd around him became like a tide trying to sweep him away.

"Easier said than done!" Honda replied.

Someone grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around. It was a mall security guard. "Sir, you need to leave."

Kaiba snarled at the man. "Get your hand off me. Do you have any idea who I am?"

The guard just rolled his eyes. "Sir, you could be the Emperor himself, but you're still going to have to evacuate the building. This is not a drill."

The crowd around them continued to move, sending Kaiba another step closer to the security guard. He ripped his shoulder out of the guard's grip to look back down at the spot he had been surveying. He couldn't see the bag of money anymore, not through the swarm of shoppers racing toward the doors. "Surveillance team, have the packages moved at all?"

"No Seto-sama, according to the tracking devices, the bags have not been taken yet. We're receiving information that the fire department's ETA is fifteen minutes-" Came the reply from the surveillance team stationed in the van in the parking lot.

"Kaiba, I'm in the parking lot. I just couldn't fight both the crowd and the security guards." Honda interrupted the report, sounding both irritated and apologetic.

"Yami?" He asked.

"I have also been removed from the premises." The spirit reply flatly.

His frustration increased exponentially by leaps and bounds. "What good are you if you can't even handle a few rent-a-cops?"

"I don't abuse my powers on mortals." The former pharaoh snapped back, sounding equally as pissed.

Mokuba's voice broke through the chatter with startling clarity. "Nii-sama, please leave. I understand your determination, but it's not worth risking your life. Jounouchi wouldn't want that."

Kaiba felt all the fight drain out of him as two bodyguards suddenly flanked him and grabbed him by each arm. The two men bowed their heads in apology as they spoke in unison, barely audible above the noise and panic. "Forgive us, Seto-sama, but our orders are from Mokuba-sama." He shot another glance toward the still not visible bag somewhere in the sea of people below before he was forcibly dragged away.

Half an hour of cursing (mostly on Sophia's part) and nervous hand wringing (mostly on Honda's part) later, the fire department managed to finally extinguish the flames. No one had been hurt, but Kaiba was just about ready to kill someone with his bare hands. It took another fifteen minutes of squabbling with the police and thinly veiled threats before his security team was allowed back into the mall. By then, the building had been completely sealed off to everyone except for rescue and emergency workers. He looked over at computer screen displaying the location of the tracking devices planted in the bags of money. True to his security team's word, they didn't so much move a pixel the entire time they waited.

Sophia watched the firefighters with eyes both dark and grim. "The money's gone already."

Shizuka and Honda immediately turned to face Jounouchi's manager. "But the tracking device-"

"Don't you see?" She waved her hand at the building. "This was all a distraction to throw us off their trail. I'll bet you that fire was arson."

A loud crackle proceeded the report from his team over the radio. "Seto-sama, we have collected the packages."

"Any signs of the kidnappers?" He hated the fact his heart was racing entirely too fast, threatening to break free of his rib cage. But he wouldn't show it because he needed to be calm and methodical.

"None," There was a small pause of hesitation. "But the money's also gone, Seto-sama."

-x-x-x-

Rebecca re-positioned her half-moon glasses on the bridge of her nose and did her best not to make fun of the three-year-old machine sitting in her lap. Shizuka hovered just next to her on the couch, watching anxiously as the other woman worked. After the failed attempt to find out Jounouchi's location with the tracking devices, the group had gone back to Kaiba Corp to wait for news from the kidnappers. In the meanwhile, there was always the possibility that the kidnappers would just return Jounouchi after they got what they wanted. But the hours passed without any further contact with the kidnappers and the tension among the group reached a new peak. On more than one occasion, Yami would pull Seto aside and they would argue in a low and furious tone. Around 5PM, a bodyguard appeared in the doorway of the conference room and announced that they had located the money. The news sent everyone but the Kaibas into a frenzy, because he had known it would only be a matter of time before his backup plan produced results.

When the men left to conduct their raid on the warehouse where Jonouchi was most likely being held, Shizuka had pulled Rebecca aside to ask for a favor. It was only when they were in Jounouchi Michi's apartment and away from the prying ears of Kaiba Seto that Shizuka was willing to give voice to her reason for worrying.

"I'm beginning to think Otou-san may be involved with this." Shizuka said with a face full of shame.

Rebecca agreed with the other woman that in light of recent events, it just seemed like too much of a coincidence for Jounouchi Tanaka to take a renewed interest in his children's lives now. She had swallowed the acerbic remarks that threatened to fall from her tongue. In some way, she could understand why Shizuka had wanted to believe her father was a reformed man. She knew that Shizuka always tried to see the best in people- it was the quality that both Honda and Seto loved most about her. Because as an artist, Shizuka always chose to focus on the beauty of the world.

Rebecca reached over and gave the other woman's hand a firm squeeze, smiling and trying to reassure her. She also didn't think Shizuka should be the guilt-ridden one if the older Jounouchi was the one responsible for the current situation.

"So can you find out what he was doing on my computer?" The other woman was staring at the time displayed on the DVD player, probably worried about the impending raid on her brother's location.

Rebecca scanned the list of websites in the browser's history, but none of the ones listed seem out of character for Shizuka. "Not easily though, unless you have a keylogger installed on your computer. You said you saw him using email?"

"It was Yahoo Mail, I have an account with them too."

Rebecca typed the URL to Yahoo! Japan into the browser's address bar. On the login page, she entered the username of Shizuka's email and a password. The login succeeded, she noted with satisfaction.

Shizuka stared at her with eyes wide with admiration. "Wow, Mokuba wasn't kidding when he said you could hack anything."

"It would also help if you didn't use Honda's birthday as the password." Rebecca teased lightly, but made a mental note to go over the finer points of secure password creation with the woman at another time. She noted the large number of email exchanged between Shizuka and her brother, but those had come to a stop two days ago. She clicked through to the Sent folder and immediately spotted something odd. About a week ago, Shizuka forward some of her emails with Jounouchi to another email address, jtanak1961@gmail.com. Turning the laptop toward Shizuka, she asked. "Do you remember sending these emails?"

"No, I have no idea who this is." Shizuka crinkled her forehead in deep thought.

"I think it's fairly obvious who this email address belongs to." Rebecca's finger lingered over the username on the screen. "What emails were forwarded?"

Shizuka took the laptop from her laptop and quickly clicked through the five or so emails. "They're all emails from Onii-chan, mostly about his schedule, when his flight is leaving, about his new hotel room..."

Both women fell silent as the pieces of the puzzle clicked together. Sophia had been wondering how the kidnappers even knew where Jounouchi and her had been staying after moving hotels.

"We need to call the police." Shizuka muttered urgently.

-x-x-x-

Yami reluctantly pulled on the bullet-proof vest Kaiba handed him- after all, Anzu would kill him twice over if anything bad happened to Yugi. Honda and Sophia had also been bullied into wearing similar vests, but when Kaiba's bodyguards tried to force the same on the CEO, he just snarled at them and said he wouldn't have the vest hindering his movements. Another black suited man in sunglasses passed each of them an radio earpiece, which they all looped around their earlobe. Their cellphones had been turned off and left behind in the car they came down in.

They were stationed about a hundred feet away from an abandoned warehouse on the pier where the money had been tracked to. Yami looked out over the deep blue sea and his mind unwittingly brought up memories of his duel with the brainwashed Jounouchi. They would find Jounouchi- they always did. He reached down to grasp the Millennium Puzzle- the feel of the cold metal washed over him.

Yugi's astral form appeared next to him and placed a hand on Yami's shoulder. _'We'll get Jounouchi-kun back.' _

"Kaiba, how'd you find out about this place if they left the tracking devices behind?" Honda asked as the rest of Kaiba's security team started to move in and surround the building's three known exits.

Yami was equally curious, especially after he spent the last two hours trying to convince the brunet it was time to bring the Millennium Items into play for Jounouchi's sake.

"I irradiated the money," was the only reply Kaiba would give.

"You what? And you let Shizuka handle that stuff?" Honda took a step forward before Yami firmly planted himself between the two men. Yugi's spirit form stared up at Kaiba in wide-eyed shock. Sophia was also glaring at the CEO, but she had been doing that for the last day or so.

"Calm down, Honda." Mokuba's voice came over all their earpieces. "Exposure is only dangerous to humans in greater amount than what we used here over a period of months, if not years. It's a very low level radiation, which is why it took a few hours before the warehouse showed up on our satellites. Contingency JMP was originally conceived with Nii-sama and me in mind, and takes into account all the things our enemy would most likely use to counter us. That way even if kidnappers had a way to disable electronics, we would still be able to track the money. It's military grade isotope DH-300 (1), you could guide an ICBM (2) from across the Pacific with it. Nii-sama only uses the best."

"You are one frightening man, Kaiba Seto." Honda muttered and was perhaps feeling a bit shell-shocked.

Kaiba just smirked in reply and for a moment, the tension in his facial muscles dissipated.

Yugi studied Kaiba closely before remarking, _'Kaiba-kun is really giving his all for Jounouchi-kun's sake.'_

Yami nodded in agreement. _'If only he had put this much effort into finding Jounouchi when he first left, this might not have happened.'_

Yugi turned and smiled sadly at Yami. _'Yes, but all that matters is he's doing it now. He wants to keep Jounouchi safe and by his side. We can't waste time thinking about the what ifs now.'_

The group moved in silence to position themselves at one of warehouse doors. They were flanked front and back by two of Kaiba's bodyguards. Yami could see that Yugi was nervously eying the bodyguards' guns and he reached out with his mind to soothe his beloved partner. The grateful smile from Yugi's spirit form never failed to warm Yami to the core and fill him with renewed determination. _For Jounouchi, _they thought in unison._  
_

After a slight crackle of static, someone spoke over the radio transmission. "Seto-sama, we have visual of possibly the kidnappers and the money, but no signs of the hostage yet."

Kaiba straightened his posture before giving his order. "Move in, and I want Jounouchi Katsuya safe at all cost. Kill the bastards if you have to."

The bodyguards in front immediately kicked down the door and stormed the building. Men in black suits and dark sunglasses flooded in through all the doors that lead into the warehouse's main storage area. Three men froze over a rickety table where they were counting the pile of yen notes.

"Don't move or we will not hesitate to shoot you where you stand." Kaiba roared as he stormed onto the frontline.

"We didn't do anything!" One of the men, Maruyama Jun, screeched as he eyed at the guns trained on him.

One hard swing of Kaiba's fist sent the taxi driver crashing into the concrete ground and yen notes flying everywhere. Kaiba signaled to a group of guards on his right and barked, "Search the rest of the building and find him." Sophia immediately took off after the group sent to find Jounouchi.

Three more guards quickly moved forward and grabbed the three kidnappers before forcing them down to the ground with a gun to their heads. "Seto-sama, they're unarmed."

"Good, restrain them. I have lots of questions for them later." The gleam in Kaiba's eyes and the cruel turn of a sadistic smile were unsettling. For a moment, Yami thought he was looking into the eyes of that monstrous boy who had dedicated an amusement park to his demise.

Sophia and the search party returned just as the three kidnappers' hands were bound with plastic zip ties. The lack of Jounouchi and the stormy expression on Sophia's face was telling.

"Seto-sama, we've searched the entire building but we cannot find Jounouchi-san. However, one of the offices in the back bears signs of someone being held prisoner there. There are empty food corners and a waste bucket for elimination." The guard bowed his head as he made his report.

Kaiba glared down at the three captive men and growled dangerously. "Where is Jounouchi Katsuya?"

Each of the captives squirmed uncomfortably under the gaze. One of them attempted to be defiant. "I don't know what you're talking about. Is it a crime to count money nowadays?"

Kaiba pointed at the pile of bills sitting on the table. "That's my money."

All three captive's face paled.

"I've had enough of this crap." Sophia pushed Kaiba aside and reached into her purse. Yugi gave a small gasp of shock that no one but Yami could hear when she pulled out a pistol and stuck its muzzle against Maruyama Yuichi's temple. "Now start talking before I really lose my patience."

"We really don't know!" Jun screamed.

Sophia narrowed her eyes and lowered her gun's aim. "Wrong answer, now you're going to lose a testicle."

"Stop!" Yami roared as he jumped forward and grabbed the gun out of her hand. "You will not do this, Sophia Chang. This is not right and makes us no better than them."

"I don't have time for your honor and justice bullshit, Pharaoh. Now give me back my gun!" She took a step forward to reclaim her weapon.

Yami reached down into the well of magic stored in his Puzzle and forced the dark power into Sophia's body, locking down her joints and muscles. "You will leave now." He commanded with all the power and magic of his inheritance.

When he released his hold on her, she collapsed onto the ground and gasped for air. She was almost as pale as the men they held captive. She looked up at him with a mixture of hate and awe, making him sick to the stomach.

"Go home, Chang." Kaiba said flatly.

Sophia rose unsteadily onto her feet before snatching her weapon from Yami's limp grip. "Kaiba, I'm done playing by your rules. I'm going to find Katsuya if it's the last thing I do." And as she left, Yami swore he saw a flicker of shadows swarm around and cling to her feet.

"Yami, you can make them talk." Kaiba looked him straight in the eye. It was not a question, but a statement.

Yami nodded. The very thought of what Kaiba was about to suggest tugged at long-forgotten dark appetites. But he now had mercy to temper that absolute justice, Yugi would make sure of that.

"The rest of you get out. We'll interrogate the prisoners ourselves." The black suits immediately vacated the building at Kaiba's command.

Kaiba smirked down at the three captives, who all shrunk back. "You're going to wish she shot you instead."

Out of the corner of his eye, Yami could see Honda watching them with a mix of horror and curiosity. Yugi retreated into his Soul Room as the lights overhead began flickering. Shadowy forms drew around Yami like a cloak of darkness; with the blackness creeping over the walls and floor blocking all other sources of light. Soon there was only the light from the Eye of Horus shining on Yami's forehead to illuminate the teeth in his sharp-edged smile.

"Shall we play a game?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1) As most of you have probably guessed, there's no such isotope as DH-300. For radiation to actually to be visible from space via satellite, it would have to be a lot and most probably very harmful to the human body. But this is the same universe with holographic devices and MOMENTUM! (see Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds for reference), so I hope y'all can cut me some slack for my creative license in this part. You can think of it as a super-awesome isotope or that Kaiba just has really, really good satellites.
> 
> (2) ICBM = Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, long range weapons usually designed with a nuclear payload


	15. Track 13- Dirge

_As soon as the evil priest threw the Kaiba lookalike into the dark purple portal, I took off after them. Behind me, I could hear Yugi and the others telling me to stop. But I couldn't just stand by and do nothing, especially when no one else looked like they were going to. I saw Yami stopped by the snake tail of Bakura's monster, and I was grateful for the first time that we were incapable of physically interacting with the world around us. Despite Bakura's rage, the snake paid no heed to me as I weaved around it and dove into the portal after the two men._

_I blamed it on the smug warning that the tan Bakura clone had given at the cliff earlier: _"You should probably be more worried about where Shachou-san has been dropped off."

_The trip through the portal was disorienting at best. I was forcibly ejected onto a stone-paved floor on the other end. Rays from the sun overhead meant I was finally outside again. I hadn't realized that Yugi, Anzu, and Honda had managed to follow me until the three of them landed on top of me- crushing me under their combined weight._

_"Guys! Get the hell off!" I wheezed from the bottom of the people pile._

_When we all climbed back to our feet, I took the opportunity to observe our surroundings. It was a temple of some sort, but we were out in the middle of nowhere with miles and miles of sand all around us. Our tour of ancient Egyptian temples were cut short as the evil priest began addressing Seth._

_The masked priest's voice reverberated with a strange sort of power behind it. "Look, Seth. A power even greater than the Gods will be proof of your right to rule. The one who will make you the new pharaoh is already on her way." The man pointed out to the endless desert before us._

_Yugi and Anzu rushed to the edge of the structure we were standing on to catch sight of this person._

_Seth stiffened as he must have recognized the person approaching from the distance. "Kisara!"_

_The urgency and concern in Seth's voice- which sounded exactly like Kaiba's- made my heart ache._

_The dark priest didn't try to stop Seth when he turned and went for the stairs. While the others were still trying to make out the person in the distance, I decided to follow Seth instead. In the open plaza below, Seth met with the young girl we had seen him rescue from the marketplace stoning. Neither of them took notice of me as I moved next to them to listen in on their conversation. It felt a terribly lot like I was eavesdropping, but my curiosity was overwhelming._

_The two exchanged words about some shared past that I didn't understand. But the expression bordering on adoration on Seth's face was the most telling of all. It made me feel sick. I could never imagine an expression like that on the Kaiba I knew, and it seemed just as wrong in this case. In the short time that I spent observing Priest Seth, I came to the conclusion that the Priest was very unlike my Kaiba. Seth was nowhere near as cruel or even as delibrate. It wasn't a matter of power that determined the development of their personalities- it could be argued that Seth had even more power and yet the guy was still capable of open affection._

_"Jounouchi?"_

_My heart skipped a beat. I could see the others coming down the flight of stairs I just followed Seth down. Like almost everyone else in this world, Seth couldn't see me. I turned in the direction of the voice. Kaiba was standing under one of the pillars that bordered the temple._

_I had to blink twice and rub my eyes to confirm I wasn't hallucinating. Yugi and the others ran past me to where Kaiba stood. I followed reluctantly._

_"Kaiba-kun, what are you doing here?" Yugi asked._

_He gave us all the critical eye- probably trying to determine if we were really here or not. "That Bakura bastard challenged me to a duel and then left me with the Millennium Eye. He said it was an invitation to the ultimate game of darkness. I tried to call you Yugi, but your grandfather told me you were already in Egypt. So I came."_

_Honda snorted. "I thought you didn't believe in this magic stuff."_

_My best friend was quickly silenced by an icy glare. As the rest of them started comparing notes and tossing out suggestions of our next move, I realized something. Kaiba had followed the girl here. There was no other way he could have found his way through the desert otherwise. An invisible hand tightened around my heart, wringing out confusion and despair._

_Our attention was forced back to the drama unfolding between Seth, his father, and the Kisara girl when the ground beneath us started shaking and the stone overhead cracking._

_"The resurrection of Master Zorc is at hand! Kill the woman, Seth, and consecrate yourself as a God!" The evil priest standing above us ordered. "Become the new pharaoh with the power of the White Dragon!"_

_Seth glared at the man. "Even if you are my father, I will not sell my soul to the darkness. Let's go, Kisara."_

_Before the two could get away, stone appeared from the ground to block their escape and our view. From behind the rocks, Seth shouted something and a monster cut through the rock for them. The dark priest took a flying leap off the building's roof and landed between Seth and us._

_"I won't let you escape."_

_Another monster summoned from shadows made short work of Seth's monster. I tried to move forward to help, but Kaiba had grabbed my forearm and stopped me._

_"Let me go." I growled. "We can't just stand here."_

_Kaiba shook his head. "It's no use. They can't see us and we can't interact with them."_

_The dark priest's shadow monster moved forward as he continued to rant. "It must be this girl's fault. How dare you corrupt my son? Seth is mine!"_

_A pure and bright white light poured out from Kisara's body before forming into the shape of the Blue Eyes White Dragon. When the dragon tried to use its attack on the priest's shadow monster, the monster broke apart to form a large ball that knocked the girl back._

_Yugi and Honda were both staring with their mouths hanging open, but Kaiba was watching everything with his usual impassive expression. Wasn't he moved at all by everything Kisara was trying to do to help him? I wondered if Seth was a hint of what was hidden inside of Kaiba or if he was just a possibility that I would never see again. Or maybe I was just never meant to see that side of him... Not like Kisara..._

_"Kisara!" Seth cried in obvious concern as he bent down to help the girl._

_A spellbinding circle appeared from the ground and attached itself around the dragon's neck like a collar. The Blue Eyes flew back into a large stone tablet that appeared behind the pair. But Kisara didn't give up. The small white-haired girl stepped out in front of Seth and spread her arms wide. Her bravery was either commendable or stupid, yet it didn't sit well with me._

_"I will protect Master Seth at any cost." The love and devotion was clear in her eyes and voice even at the distance from which we watched._

_"What are you waiting for, Seth?" The dark priest asked. "Kill her and take the power of the White Dragon. Use the power for Master Zorc and become the king of darkness!"_

_Seth shook his head. "You're wrong! Master _ _Akhenaden_ _, what benefit is there to a where of darkness ruled by Zorc? I used to think this world was dark and forsaken. But ever since I met Kisara, I have come to realize that the light called love changes all of that!"_

_The smile on her face in response was beautiful, lighting up her thin and haggard features. The look they shared was that of two people in deep and complete love. And just hearing those words (even if they weren't from my Kaiba's mouth) made my heart hurt more than I could ever imagine- or would ever admit.  
_

-x-x-x-

"Nii-sama," Mokuba's voice was grave when it came over the radio transmission. "Shizuka wants to talk to you. It sounds like she and Rebecca might have found something."

Kaiba glared at the impenetrable dome of darkness surrounding Yami and the three captives. It had been fifteen minutes since the so-called Game of Darkness started, and he was already regretting letting the spirit have free reign. His people would have had an answer by now. But that twisted part in his head wanted them to suffer; because like Yami, Kaiba favored the the type of justice that toyed with people.

"Put her through." He muttered, ignoring the first sound to issue from inside the dome- a scream of horror.

"Kaiba-san, have you found Onii-chan?" She asked so full of hope and desperation.

He hated to disappoint her almost as much as Mokuba. "No, it appears they've already moved your brother. We're trying to find out where now."

"Please find him soon, Kaiba-san. I really fear for his safety now. I think Otou-san is involved."

His blood ran cold at her words. Jounouchi Tanaka, why hadn't he seen it before? Yet he couldn't blame himself either. Even someone as paranoid and jaded as himself couldn't expect every father to be vindictive like Kaiba Gozaburo.

"Kaiba-san?" She asked.

"I'm taking care of this." He snapped- his tone more harsher than he intended.

He envisioned her chewing on her lips on the other end of the line. "This is getting out of hand fast. We need to notify the police now."

"I've already gotten us further than the police would have in a week's time. I wouldn't trust the Domino Police Department to find a lost dog."

"Kaiba-san," The steel in her voice made him pause. "This isn't a discussion. I was just doing you the courtesy of informing you about my plans. Please do let me know if you find anything on Onii-chan." The dial-tone informed him that she had already hung up on him.

"Jounouchis," he snarled. "That entire family is going to make me prematurely gray or bald."

A sudden change in air pressure made Kaiba's ears pop. The black dome jutting out in the center of the warehouse collapsed like a ray of light into a black hole. Yami and the three bound captives, who looked like they had been to hell and back, reappeared on the floor. The predatory smile on the former Pharaoh's face brought up recollections of the nightmares that had haunted Kaiba's sleep in his teenage years.

"You will tell us everything you know." Yami's words rang with such absolute authority that Kaiba wondered if they were magically reinforced.

"He came to us a month ago, said he had a plan to get rich!" Maruyama Yuichi began.

Maruyama Jun then jumped in. "The deal was that we would provide the manpower and he would provide the intelligence. He just wanted his fair share and Joey Katsuya."

"He took him an hour before you arrived, along with his part of the money. We don't know where he took Joey. We didn't ask!" The third yet unnamed kidnapper finished for his accomplices.

Kaiba loomed over the three. "Who?"

The kidnappers glanced at each other, looking like they were trying to sink into the ground. "Jounouchi Tanaka."

Kaiba turned away with the tail of his trenchcoat whipping at his shins. He looked into manic fires burning in the red of Yami's eyes. "I've heard all I need to."

Yami's heels clicked loudly against the ground as he approached the kidnappers once more. A low and cruel chuckle rumbled in his throat. "You remember our deal right? If you beat me, I would allow you to go free. You all lost, in fact all of you tried to cheat. For actions such as yours, there is only the Penalty Game."

The warehouse door closing behind him cut off the abrupt screams from inside. Honda paced back and forth across the concrete pavement in front of the building.

Mokuba started over the earpieces. "I've already have the rest of the security team canvassing the city for signs of Jounouchi Tanaka. But since he only has a small portion of the money on him, it could be a day or more before it's visible to our satellite."

Kaiba glanced down at the watch on his wrist. It was nearly seven-thirty. Even he was beginning to feel the effects of running on empty for the last 24 hours.

"I'm going to kill that bastard if he hurts Jounouchi." Honda snarled somewhere in the background.

"Have Isono take out Yugi's chest out of the vault. It better be in the conference room by the time I get back." Kaiba ordered quietly. He had already taken the first step by letting Yami use his power; he might as well see it through. Because as much as he loathed to admit it, he was running out of options and Jounouchi out of time.

"You don't mean _that_ chest, right?"

"I don't recall keeping anything else for him."

From behind him, Kaiba heard the sound of a metal door opening and closing. He turned and was surprised to see Yugi back in control. "Where'd your other half go?"

Yugi gave him a weary smile. "I made him rest. He doesn't want to admit it, but that took a lot out of him. He hasn't needed to use his powers like that for many years now."

Kaiba waved over one of the bodyguards and said as he gestured to the warehouse behind him, "We're leaving. Tell the police to come pick up that trash."

He was determined to not waste anymore time.

-x-x-x-

With the tail of his trenchcoat swinging in his wake, Kaiba came into the conference room like a violent storm of lightning and hail. Yugi and Honda filed in behind the CEO.

"Where's Sophia-san?" Bakura's troubled gaze swept over the group entering.

"Doing whatever she damn pleases. I could care less." Kaiba growled.

"We have a problem though. There are rumors going around online that Jounouchi has been kidnapped." Malik looked up from his laptop. "Damage control's going to have to come from Sophia if anyone's going to believe it."

"I told Shizuka not to go to the police!" Kaiba roared.

A knock on the door brought conversations to a halt. Isono popped his head into the room, glancing nervously at all the occupants of the room. "I have brought Mutou-san's chest as requested, Seto-sama."

Kaiba took the moment to compose his temper. He didn't need to take out his lack of progress on his right-hand man. "Bring it in here and leave us."

Isono relayed the orders through the door and two suited men carried a large metal chest. Under Kaiba's critical gaze, they carefully placed the chest on the conference table. Isono and both men bowed before exiting again.

Malik couldn't tear his eyes off the chest. "What is the meaning of this, Kaiba?"

He ignored the Egyptian and turned to Yugi. "Would you do the honors?"

Yugi walked his way around the table to face the keypad on the chest. Everyone watched in silence as the man entered the digits that they had been able to best approximate Atem's birthday on the Gregorian calendar. The box gave three shrill beeps and Yugi pressed his thumb on the red square next to the keypad.

"Identity confirmed: Mutou Yugi." The chest gave a hiss and a side dropped down to reveal two columns of four drawers each. The computerized female voice continued, "Please state the item of retrieval."

"The Millennium Ring." Yugi took a quick glance at Kaiba out of the corner of his eyes.

With a mechanical whirl, one of the middle drawers slid out to reveal the Millennium Ring resting in a foam insert. Yugi picked up the artifact gingerly; almost as if the spirit of Zorc or Bakura's dark personality would leap out at any second. But such a thing wasn't going to happen; not after Yami had defeated them many years ago.

The needles dangling from the Ring jingled like windchimes. Kaiba unwittingly recalled the duel he fought against the darker Bakura on the roof of Kaiba Corp. At the time, Bakura's every move made the Item resound with all the force of a beating war drum. It was unnerving for the Ring to seem so innocuous now.

Bakura made his way around the table to stand next to Yugi. It was then that Kaiba belatedly realized that he didn't know how Bakura felt about the Item. Unlike Yugi or even Malik, Bakura retained no sense of agency when he possessed the Ring.

Life was so much easier when he didn't care about anyone but Mokuba's feelings.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Malik seemed torn between his protectiveness and trusting his partner to handle himself. The Egyptian's eyes kept wandering back toward the top left drawer on the chest that stored the Millennium Rod. "Ryou has never really used an Item before. Wouldn't it be better if I-"

Ruby red eyes flickered over to the former Tombkeeper. "Be that as it may, the Ring still recognizes Bakura. He has the best chance of finding Jounouchi with it."

Yugi held out the Item nestled in his palm. "If you are willing to help, Bakura-kun. I understand if this is something you never thought you'd have to do."

The Ring jingled cheerfully when Bakura took the Item and Kaiba exhaled a breath he hadn't known he was holding. The psychologist turned the object over in his hands, studying it in silence. He pulled the rope over his head and gave Yugi a nervous smile. As the Ring settled on his chest, a golden light spilled forth from the eye in the center.

"Guess you better show me how to work this thing."

-x-x-x-

Sophia noted that the suit he wore was made of high-quality material; it was tailored and most likely Italian. The man sitting behind the oak desk was in his thirties, clean-shaven and respectable looking. She had finally gotten in to talk to someone who had the power to help her. It hadn't been easy. She had spent over 10,000 US dollars in "gifts" over the last two hours to talk to someone this far up the organizational food chain. She has been out of the game for so long, she might as well be katagi (1) to these people.

"This is it, Sophia. If you call this favor in, we're square. I can't ever hear from you again unless you're returning to the corporation." Issac had said over the phone just an hour ago. She imagined he was sitting in his office at the talent agency when he took her call, surrounded by his designer modern furniture and contemporary art sculptures. "I hope that boy toy of yours is worth it."

Sophia wanted to laugh, but it would have been inappropriate. She really didn't need to piss off a mid-level faction boss of the Yamaguichi-gumi at this point. That was akin to signing her death warrant- even if that had already been done long ago. In the chair next to her sat her bargaining chip; her very uncooperative and nervous bargaining chip, had Issac not been his cousin. Happy, as he was more intimately known among his own circle, did a huge favor for someone high-up in the organization in Hong Kong. And for his loyalty, the corporation helped him to escape prosecution by shipping him off to head the start-up in Japan. She couldn't say she envied him for his position.

The man behind the desk, who had simply introduced himself as Kodo, smiled at her. "What can I do for the manager of Japan's next great cultural export," his eyes flickered briefly to the man to her left and that smile faltered. "And her fellow countryman?"

She chose not to correct him on the fact she was Chinese-American, but American nonetheless. "Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to meet with us, Kodo-san. It is an honor."

Kodo's phony grin returned. "You almost speak our language like a native."

Sophia straightened her posture, feeling unguarded without her handbag or the gun she carried within. "I'm here with a business proposition on behalf of the Mun-Sing Corporation (2), but our organization seeks a favor in return."

The other enforcers in the room stiffened at her words. Kodo had similarly narrowed his eyes in response. "I wasn't aware that Mun-Sing had holdings in entertainment."

"I understand there has been some tension over the ecstasy trade our organization is currently engaged in." She started, suppressing the urge to wince.

Kodo snarled and banged a fist on his desk. "Damn right there is. This is our territory and you Chinese need to back off."

She took a deep breath before continuing. "Our respective markets aren't competing with each other. I believe your main product is crystal meth. Your group obviously has no intention in pushing ecstasy yourself. And why would you? One group of spoiled college students who don't know their limits and the cops are on you in an instant. It hardly seems worth it. But you can't fault us for trying to make a living. Neither of us wants this to turn into a protracted conflict, it's bad for both of our businesses."

Kodo had settled down considerably. "And you think you have a solution?"

"Leave our operations alone and we will cut you 40 percent. It's all of the gain without any of the risk." Sophia held her head high and refused to allow her nervousness to show. This was the do or die moment.

The silence was suffocating as he stared at her from across the desk. Happy vigorously and nervously tapped his fingers against his thigh. Kodo took the chance to fetch a cigarette from the pack in his breast pocket and one of the guards behind him immediately moved forward to offer a light. The silence dragged on as wispy tendrils of cigarette smoke rake through the air.

"And what benefit does your organization reap in return?" Kodo finally asked.

She placed the photo of Katsuya's father that she had convinced Malik to send her on the table between them. "We wish to find this man, Jounouchi Tanaka, as soon as possible."

Kodo raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Just find?"

She nodded slowly. "Find and nothing more. We have neither the manpower nor access to cover the entire city, but your organization does. But it needs to happen asap."

Kodo leaned back in his plush leather chair and looked as if he was seriously considering the proposal. "What guarantee-"

"I have assurances from the head office that our deal will be honored. They are prepared to send someone here within the week to finalize this."

Kodo took another drag of his cigarette. "Do you always go this far for all your clients?"

She gritted her teeth. "No, but I gave him my word." From what little she know about the yakuza, a person's word could be enough to get them far in these circles. Her heart was racing in her chest and the pounding echoed in her ears.

He picked up the photo off the desk and handed it to the suited man standing behind him. "Get the sake so that we may celebrate our newfound partnership."

-x-x-x-

Jounouchi tugged at the chain, but succeeded in causing the handcuffs around his wrist to chaff further and bringing more pain from what he now suspected was a broken rib. He was going to have to accept that he was not going anywhere as long as he was chained to the radiator. He recalled watching something on TV once that suggested he might be able to escape the cuffs if he broke both of his thumbs. Then again, TV would also have him think that amnesia was easily cured with another knock to the head. He was almost glad that son of a bitch wasn't feeding him. He wasn't sure he could keep down any amount of food between the pain and the nausea.

A patch of sky visible through a crack in the blinds told him it was now nighttime. When he had been blindfolded and moved from the warehouse earlier, it was sometime in the afternoon. In that brief time between the warehouse exit and another vehicle, Jounouchi had felt the sun in his face and the wind in his hair.

He was beginning to wonder if anyone was even looking for him.

Jounouchi froze at the rattle of the front door. He had hoped he would have a much longer reprieve when his father initially left. The door edged open slowly, and his blood ran cold as the end of a gun's muzzle peeking around door.

"Katsuya?" The familiar voice was followed by a familiar head of black hair.

"Oh my god, Sophie, is that really you?" He really hoped he wasn't hallucinating.

His manager quickly rushed over to the radiator before dropping to her knees and placing her gun on the floor. She grabbed his shoulders and pulled him into a tight hug. It was a gesture he would have appreciated more if it didn't make his ribs didn't hurt like hell.

"Ouch, watch the ribs, Sophie." A few drops of something wet fell on his shoulder. "Are you crying?"

Her eyes were slightly red when she pulled back. With her best glare on her face, she began to focus on the handcuffs binding him to the radiator. She pulled a bobby pin from her hair and inserted the metal into the keyhole. While she worked on the lock, Jounouchi couldn't help but stare at the firearm lying on the floor. He was aware of her past to some extent- knowing that they had shared many of the same experiences in their youth. It was one of the reasons they connected so well with each other. But maybe there were things he was better off not knowing about her...

"How did you find me?" He was still staring at the gun as he spoke. The low electric hum of a halogen light sign outside the window filled the air, making it harder to concentrate on anything else.

"I had some help from the Yamaguichi-gumi." She cut him off before he could ask more questions. "Don't ask me how I got their help. Some shatei-san spotted your father when he headed out half an hour ago and informed me. Now shut up so I can work."

After a few agonizing moments of eternity, the cuff around his left wrist came open with a loud pop. He immediately pulled his arms back from the radiator and began rubbing his wrist. It must have been hours since he was first chained around that thing. Jounouchi offered his right arm to his manager, "Are you gonna get this one too?"

She shook her head and grabbed her gun off the floor. "Let's not waste the time and just get out of here." Without him even needing to ask for help, she looped her arm around his shoulder and hauled him to his feet.

He leaned his weight on her as they walked. His legs were numb from having been sitting or lying on hard floors for almost two days. The not-so-gentle administrations of his captors and then his father had taken a toll on his body. Every few steps or so, Sophie would look at him as if she was taking a mental inventory of his injuries. It appeared she didn't very much like the list she came up with and Jounouchi had to wonder if he really looked that crappy.

When they were two feet away from the exit, the door swung open with a loud bang and sent them scrambling back into the room. The towering form of Jounouchi Tanaka filled the doorway completely, obscuring the light from the hallway outside. Jounouchi groaned in pain when Sophie dropped him and left him on the bed. She raised the gun immediately and aimed at the older man's head.

"I'll shoot!"

But her voice trembled ever so slightly.

-x-x-x-

Bakura squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to concentrate on the Ring and Jounouchi's location. In his youth, the Item had felt like an iron chain clamped around his neck. But it felt impossibly light now, and the needles danced in the air with the slightest hint of a breeze. Bakura found it difficult to determine if the change in ar pressure followed the swing of the needles or vice versa.

In the driver's seat next to him, Kaiba was trying his best to not stare too openly at him. Even with his eyes closed, Bakura could still feel the full weight of his gaze. Kaiba had yet to snap at him for the slow progress they'd made in the last two hours, but it was only a matter of time. Getting a handle on how to use the Ring had taken nearly an hour- though both Malik and Yugi were quick to reassure him that he was already doing the best humanly possible under the time constraint. Bakura had managed to use the Ring to find things hidden in the room and then ultimately somewhere else in the confine of Kaiba's office building. But Domino City was a whole other matter of almost a thousand square miles. A number of areas in the city had already been ruled out by Kaiba's security team, but it still left some 700 square miles of possibilities.

Finding a needle in a haystack was probably an understatement.

Bakura opened his eyes and looked straight into Kaiba's. "I think we're close. We should go the rest of the way on foot."

The other man just nodded and climbed out of his side of the car. As soon as Bakura got out of the car, he could feel an immediate tug toward one definite direction. The needles hanging from the Ring flew up from their slack positions to point ninety degrees to an alley to their north. Without exchanging any more words, Bakura followed the pull in his navel and Kaiba him. A five-story brick building with a neon light sign pronouncing it to be a motel stood at the end of the alley. In a third-story window overhead, there was a flash of light immediately followed by the sound of a gunshot. They both broke into a run toward the building.

-x-x-x-

The fight was over in a matter of seconds. Tanaka recognized and took advantage of Sophie's hesitation, getting the jump on her. As the firearm was thrown back into the air, a shot was fired into the ceiling. The gun was knocked out of her hand and slid across the length of the floor far away from both Jounouchi and Sophie's reach. A loud backhand slap sent Sophie crashing into a nearby wall with blood trailing from her lips and another cut across her temple. Jounouchi was brought down by a swift kick to his already tender torso, leaving him gasping in pain as his father straddled Sophie on the floor and began strangling her.

Sophie made several attempts to throw off and then claw the man pinning her down. As the seconds passed, the range of her movements decreased until she went completely limp in Tanaka's hands.

"Leave her alone!" He reached over to the bed for leverage to stand up. "Everyone heard that gunshot, it's only a matter of time before the police get here."

His father released the unmoving Sophie to cross the room in two long strides to retrieve the gun. Pointing the muzzle in Jounouchi's direction, the older man gave a toothy smile and said, "We better get moving then."

Jounouchi mentally cursed his manager for making the entire situation even worse by bringing the gun into the picture. When they emerged into the hallway, the corridor was dead silent. He wouldn't be surprised if the other occupants of the motel were hiding in their rooms. He tried to take one last glance at the unconscious (or so he really hoped she was) Sophie lying just out of the door's line of sight. His father dug the gun into his back in response to his resistance, urging him to move forward.

"If you run, I will shoot you."

Jounouchi was sure that was something his father would follow through with. His hands might be freed, but even he knew better than to go up against a pistol aimed at his heart. When they got to the stairwell, the older man ordered Jounouchi to go down to the ground floor. Just as they reached the first landing on their way down, rapid footsteps climbing up the stairs toward them made them both pause.

"Jounouchi-kun!" Bakura shouted as he and Kaiba rounded the bend of the staircase.

Grabbing roughly onto Jounouchi's shoulder to prevent escape, Tanaka lifted the gun and fired down in the voices general direction. Both of the other two men immediately dropped as they saw the flash of muzzle peek over the blond's shoulders. Tanaka dragged Jounouchi back up the last few steps they climbed and ordered, "Go up to the roof."

Exhausted and scared out of his mind, he shouted. "Please check on Sophie. She's in the open room on the third floor." His outburst predictably earned him a vice grip on his arm and more dragging up the stairs.

Kaiba's words echoed off the walls of the stairwell. "This is the end of the line, Tanaka. The police are already on their way."

With the gun's muzzle once more digging into his back, Jounouchi made the rest of the journey to the top of the staircase where they exited onto the rooftop. Near the edge of the roof, Tanaka kicked the back of his legs and forced him down on his knees. His heart raced as the end of the gun was placed firmly against the back of his head.

"This is crazy." He tried to keep his voice steady. "This is suicidal."

When Kaiba appeared in the rooftop access, he was alone and Bakura was nowhere in sight. Jounouchi really hoped the white-haired psychologist was checking on Sophie and contacting the police.

"Don't come any closer or I'll shoot him." His father declared from behind him.

Kaiba ignored the threat and began approaching them from across the roof. "You wouldn't do that. Jounouchi's your only bargaining chip if you want to get out of here alive. Believe me, your situation will only become a thousand times more dire if you should harm another hair on his head."

"Shut up!"

Kaiba was edging toward his left now and his eyes trained on some point behind Jounouchi. There were brief seconds of eye contact with the CEO and they did little to alleviate Jounouchi's sudden onslaught of nausea. Jounouchi had been close to death a number of times- probably a lot more than what most people could claim. But he had never been at the end of a gun pressed to his head and ready to blow his brains out. He really wanted to believe he was brave enough to take all that life could throw at him in stride. It was difficult to muster his usual bravado with the threat of a bullet in his skull.

And Kaiba, in his ever infuriating mask of calm, didn't show any fear or concern except for his rigid posture. "I must admit, I've seen a lot of stupid ideas in my time and this has to be one of the most ill-conceived plans I have ever witnessed. You had a pretty good deal going, but you couldn't just take the money- half a million dollars, more money than you would have been able to earn in several lifetimes- and run. Instead, you blow your chances by taking your son, a well-known public figure, just to knock him around a few times."

The metal of the gun scrapped across Jounouchi's scalp- his father's hand was shaking in rage. "I told you to shut up!" Tanaka repeated himself.

From across the rooftop, Kaiba smirked and drew himself up to his full height. His trenchcoat billowed in the wind blowing through the surrounding buildings. "Your son hasn't defeated me once in the fifteen years of our acquaintance, and he's smarter and stronger than you. You're a nobody, old man, what possible chance do you have of beating me?"

Jounouchi did his best to glare at the other man and bit down on his tongue to keep from retorting. Thanks for the support, jackass...

Tanaka whipped the gun up from against Jounouchi's skull to point at Kaiba. "I don't need to outsmart a son of a bitch like you. I can shut that mouth of yours just fine with a bullet."

Not willing to wait any longer to see what trick Kaiba had up his sleeve, Jounouchi decided it was better to take his chance now. He swung his leg out and hoped to God he made contact. The sweep of his leg managed to knock his father backwards and to one side. The gun fell to the ground with a loud clatter.

"Jounouchi, get out of the way!" Kaiba shouted from somewhere he couldn't see at the moment.

After a moment's hesitation, Jounouchi began rolling away from his father, who was starting to get back to his feet. When his father began reaching for the gun, Kaiba's booted foot appeared and kicked it out of sight. Tanaka and Kaiba had each other in a grapple as Jounouchi was just beginning to sit up. By the time he got up on his feet, it was clear that his father- a man who had done hard labor for the majority of his life- had gotten the upper hand. And Kaiba, despite all his dirty tactics in business and card games, refused to do the same in physical confrontations.

"No! Kaiba!" Jounouchi screamed as he watched the other man's body tumble over the edge. All he could hear over the sound of his rushing blood was the wind roaring in his ears.

Jounouchi broke into a run toward the edge of the roof. He needed to know that Kaiba was alright- that Kaiba hadn't gotten hurt just to save him. Tanaka got to him first though and threw him back. He instinctively curled into a ball when the first kick was delivered. Each blow came harder than the last. Above him, the enormous form of his father beat him like he was fourteen again. With no one left to save him now, he began wondering if this really was the end.

A sudden shot rang out over the quiet of his harsh breathing. When he felt no pain, he risked a look up at his father. A splash of red blossomed across the white of Tanka's shirt. His father swayed on his feet but remained standing. When he continued to lurch forward, a second shot followed and Tanaka did not get up when he hit the surface of the roof.

Jounouchi watched as blood pooled around the twitching body. All he could hear was the sound of his own gasping breath filling his head, all he could smell was the thick scent of gunpowder. In the shadow of the doorway stood Sophie; the red and blue light of the approaching police sirens illuminated her grim face and the smoking gun in her hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1) Katagi is the yakuza slang for normal, non-yakuza-affiliated people.
> 
> (2) Like the yakuza, the triad use corporate fronts to either appear as legitimate organizations or as sources of money laundering. Mun-Sing is just a rough phonetic translation for "full of stars."


	16. Track 14- Aria

_From behind the curtain, I surveyed the crowd gathered around the makeshift stage erected in the center of the park downtown. With almost 500 pre-registrations online, the turn-out for the second Battle City tournament was twice the size as the previous. Besides me, Mokuba fussed with his earpiece as he shifted back and forth on his feet._

_"Relax, Mokuba. Everything will work out. I've reviewed your plan and you've prepared for every eventuality that you could have." I said._

_"Except every time we hold a Duel Monsters tournament, something always goes wrong and our stock prices take a plummet." Mokuba glared at a spot on the floor as he spoke._

_I swore then that I was going to shave Yugi bald if anything went wrong that time. It brought a small smile to his face. Though I can't say I entirely approved of the way Mokuba's smile widened with the noisy arrival of the aforementioned teen and his groupies. There was nothing more I could really do. It seemed like Yugi and company were going to remain a permanent fixture in Mokuba's and my life._

_"You guys made it!" Mokuba was practically bouncing on his feet._

_"Thank you for inviting us to the opening ceremony, Mokuba-kun." Yugi was polite as ever._

_"Of course! You guys were in the top eight last year. You gotta be in the opening."_

_"And I'm going to beat you this year, Kaiba!" Jounouchi pointed a finger in my direction._

_I smirked, "In your dreams, bonkotsu."_

_"It's too bad Malik-kun, Isis-san, and Rishid-san couldn't make it this year." Yugi got a few stares for his words._

_Those three cheating bastards were just lucky I didn't blacklist them all in the pro circuit._

_Anzu checked her wristwatch. "It's almost time. I hope Shizuka-chan finds her way here alright."_

_The usual spot at Jounouchi's side was empty._

_"Where is she?" I asked._

_Jounouchi furrowed his brows."She invited the new girl in her class to tag along in the tournament. Shizuka thought it'd be a good way to get to know the city."_

_Yugi and his friends conversed excitedly for the next few minutes; Anzu made several attempts to include me, but gave up after the third glare. Jounouchi stared enviously at several of the cards Yugi and Yami had recently incorporated into their decks. From the sound of things, it seemed that both were going to duel and take turns trading off after each duel. I wondered if it would be petty of me to disqualify him right there._

_I had a feeling Mokuba wouldn't let me do that._

_"Sorry to keep you waiting!" Shizuka dropped into a low bow as soon as she arrived. Her shoulders heaved as she tried to catch her breath._

_Honda and Otogi's faces immediately lit up before making a beeline toward the younger girl. I barely suppressed the roll of my eyes as Jounouchi leap into the fray._

_"Onii-chan! Please don't embarrass me!"_

_The other girl that had arrived with Shizuka hung back silently. She wore the uniform of Shizuka's middle school. There wasn't anything in particular that stood out at first. This was back when I couldn't be bothered to learn the names of the group's second string._

_Ignoring the others' antics, Mokuba walked up to the girl and smiled, "Hi, I'm Kaiba Mokuba. I hope you'll enjoy today's festivities."_

_She bowed in a storm of long ice blue hair. "My name is Ryuujin Kisara. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."_

_I'm not sure if it was the name or the voice, but the others froze in that instance. Yugi and Anzu stared openly in shock, while Honda kept looking wildly between the girl and myself. Jounouchi was the most subdued of all, watching me with a set of tight jaws._

_"Is something wrong, Yugi-kun?" Bakura asked._

_Yugi looked between Mokuba, Shizuka, Otogi, and Bakura- the people who had not taken any part in Yami's world of memories. Perhaps he was just taking pity on the increasingly nervous Kisara. "It's nothing, right Anzu?"_

_"Uh, right..." She answered after a few seconds of awkward silence._

_Honda whipped around and pointed at me. "But Kaiba, isn't that-"_

_"No," I snapped._

_The rest of them flooded forward to greet her and move past the awkward moment. I only half listened as Shizuka introduced her as a transfer student from Kyoto. I was all too aware of Jounouchi creeping ever closer to my side._

_Jounouchi almost seemed unhappy. He nudged my arm gently. "Aren't you going to say hello?"_

_I snorted, "Why should I care?"_

_"Because she's that girl with the Blue Eyes White Dragon!" He mumbled urgently before looking around suspiciously._

_"I highly doubt that she's the same person. Wasn't all that supposed to have happened 3000 years ago?" I took another moment to study her. She did appear the mirror image of the girl with Priest Seth, if she had cleaned up and was less emaciated._

_I don't think I was still fully ready to accept the magical nature everything that had happened. Unfortunately, the appearance of the reincarnation of my supposed lover from a supposed past life wasn't on the list of contingencies that Mokuba and I had planned for this time._

_"She gave her life for you."_

_"Kisara gave her life for my so-called past life. I am not Priest Seth, I am my own person," I snarled._

_Frankly, I had been disgusted by what I saw of the priest- someone that was so weak to let both his friends and loved ones die._

_Jounouchi continued to glare at me and I couldn't understand why. No matter what my supposed connection to this girl may have been in a past life, it had nothing to do with who we were now. I did not know her. It was insulting to assume either of us would just automatically fall into the roles of star-crossed lovers. And Jounouchi's dogged insistence of the fact made the situation all the more sour._

_"And this is my brother, Kaiba Seto."_

_I was caught off-guard when my brother led the girl to me. She bowed again, dropping quickly to hide her flushed face and sparkling eyes behind a curtain of hair._

_The blush across her face deepened as she spoke, "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Kaiba-san."_

_I took one last look between her and Jounouchi before marching out past the curtains. I'd rather take my chances with the Duel Monsters fanboys over this developing tragedy._

-x-x-x-

Within minutes, the rooftop was flooded with police; all of whom had their guns trained on Sophie as they stormed onto the scene.

"Hands up in the air and drop the weapon!"

Sophie slowly lowered the gun and placed it down. As she brought her hands back into the air to comply with the officer's instructions, two of them grabbed and pinned her against the wall next to the roof access. From behind them, two EMS workers raced to the dying man's side.

"Can your injuries wait until we stabilize this one?" One of them pointed at Jounouchi.

He nodded numbly; his head felt like a leaden weight bobbing around. He didn't know who he should have been more concerned for: Sophie or Kaiba.

"Radio a second ambulance," the other EMT snapped. "We're going to have our hands full with this one before we can get to him and the other one downstairs."

His head swam and his breath came short at the mention of a third injured person. "Wait, is Kaiba okay?"

They ignored his question to continue working on Tanaka. "He's lost a lot of blood and he's crashing!"

A officer was quick to steer him away from the scene. Jounouchi turned his attention back to Sophie. Her hands were cuffed and the officer patting her down drew a sheathed butterfly knife from inside her boots. Even with the dim lighting, he could make out the angry red bruises wrapped around her neck.

"Wait, are you arresting her?" Just shouting made Jounouchi's head spin some more (1).

"Sir, she was in possession of the fired weapon. It's for your safety."

"She saved me!"

Beyond the police tape, Malik appeared under the eaves of the roof access. When an officer stepped in front and blocked the Egyptian from the scene, the two began arguing loudly.

"She saved my life." He barely contained his anger as he gritted his teeth.

"It's okay, Katsuya. I'll even say I'm glad I shot the son of a bitch." Sophie's words were barely audible over the clamor of the crime scene. "Malik will take good care of you in the meantime."

Malik shot her a bewildered expression from where he stood.

Sophie smiled weakly as the police led her away. Not sure how he managed to muster the strength, he pushed past and grabbed onto the shoulder of the officer leading her away. "Let her go," he growled.

"Sir, if you don't stop now, I will arrest you for obstructing justice." A officer held him back.

"Justice my ass." Jounouchi screamed and immediately winced as another jolt of pain shot through his chest.

"Katsuya, I'll be fine." She insisted just before her head vanished heading down the stairs.

As the second set of EMT workers rushed in, Tanaka was carried away in a gurney. He was hooked up to all manners of tubes and was deathly white. Jounouchi lost sight of them when he was surrounded by the new crew.

"Where does it hurt, Katsuya-san?"

Jounouchi wished this was all a nightmare- he was ready to wake up.

-x-x-x-

The detective- Jounouchi thought his name was Uetake or something, he wasn't really listening at first- flipped the notepad in his hand closed and bowed. "Thank you for your time, Jounouchi-san. I hope you will make a speedy recovery. The police will be in contact with you at a later time."

Jounouchi sat up straighter in the hospital bed. "Wait, what about my manager?"

The detective straightened his tie as he stood. He glanced nervously out of the corner of his eyes to Malik hovering in the doorway. "Chang-san will remain in our custody for at least another 48 hours. What happens next will be determined by the results of our investigation."

Jounouchi cursed when the detective quickly ducked out of the room. He glared down at the IV in his arm- the doctor had said something about making sure he wasn't malnourished. He had half the mind to rip the damn thing right out.

Malik strolled across the room, hanging up on another call coming through on his cellphone. Jounouchi had lost count of how many times the phone had rang in the last few minutes. And each time, he was tempted to pick the glass off his bedside and throw it at a wall. It seemed that the world was becoming increasing chaotic and spinning out of control. It was maddening. Who knew what was happening to his father, Sophie, or Kaiba?

"Malik, I can't stay here," he gestured to the hospital around him. "I have to go help Sophie."

The Egyptian shook his head. "Jounouchi, this is the safest place right now. There are reporters waiting to jump you as soon as you leave this hospital. Do your people a favor and give them a chance to do damage control."

"But what about Kaiba and Sophie?"

"Kaiba's fine. He sprained his wrist on the fall. And you running around when you should be resting isn't going to help Ms. Chang get released any faster."

A coil of tension in his guts relaxed with the news of Kaiba. Malik wasn't the type to lie right? But PR was all about telling bold-faced white lies. "I can't just sit here." Jounouchi gritted his teeth. His current inability to do anything for the people he cared about was slowly driving him up the walls.

"You're going to do just that," Kaiba announced suddenly from the doorway.

"Kaiba!" he exclaimed.

The brunet man marched into the room, followed by two identical looking bodyguards. Did the man have a cloning facility devoted to spitting them out? Kaiba's coat was dusty and torn in places. Jounouchi caught the bandage peeking out from under the right-handed sleeve. He came to a stop in front of Jounouchi's bed and crossed his arms over his chest. "They're here to make sure that you stay put."

The initial relief he had felt faded quickly into indignation. "You're not the boss of me, Kaiba."

"Jounouchi, for once, let the people that value your well-being take care of you," Kaiba sighed. There was a hint of tiredness and annoyance creeping into his voice.

It was then that Jounouchi noticed the slump in both men's shoulders and the dark shadows under their eyes. Had they lost sleep on his behalf? What about his mother and sister?

"What happened to my old man?" He asked.

Malik looked away and Jounouchi suspected he already knew the answer. Kaiba just narrowed his eyes and spat, "He died en route to the hospital."

Exhaustion set in once again, and for once, Jounouchi let the fight drain from him.

-x-x-x-

Painkillers, Jounouchi decided, were one of mankind's better inventions. When he woke up a few hours later just as the sun's first rays broke over the horizon, he felt remarkably better. A nurse must have removed the IV drip in his sleep. He flexed his arm and sat up in bed.

One of Kaiba's suited goons detached himself from the doorway and bowed.

"Where's the other one?" He asked.

"He's doing a patrol of the entire ward, Jounouchi-sama," replied the bodyguard.

The unfamiliar form of address made Jounouchi's skin crawl.

"Is there anything I can do for you?"

"First, drop the -sama and could you get me some food? I'm starving."

Jounouchi's stomach grumbled on cue.

-x-x-x-

Kaiba shoved his cellphone back into the pocket of his coat. He had made the mistake of going down to the cafeteria for coffee. By the time he spotted the table full of weary reporters and photographers, it was too late.

"Are you sure you're alright, Seto-sama?" The bodyguard at his side asked.

"I'm fine, Kira. But thank you stepping in." He glared down as the phone in his pocket gave another buzz.

"I figured it was that or a handful of wrongful death suits on our hands in the morning."

It was always hard to tell if Kira was serious or deadpan sarcastic.

"I want the security detail doubled asap. See if either Shizuka or her mother need an escort to come see Jounouchi." He glanced up at a clock on a wall reading about six-thirty AM.

Kira reached out and pointed down a hallway they passed. "Isn't that Jounouchi-san?"

Kaiba craned his neck back to see the person his bodyguard was pointing at. The mop of messy blond hair definitely belonged to Jounouchi. The man had his back turned to them as he peered around the next corner. He sighed and signaled for Kira to go ahead. "Go save Hino from whatever wild goose chase Jounouchi sent him on."

The bodyguard gave a stiff bow before marching away. Kaiba started quickly down the hall toward Jounouchi, determined to get there before the blond could get caught by reporters or orderlies. As he closed on the other man, Jounouchi didn't even sense his approach. Through the slit in the back of Jounouchi's hospital gown, Kaiba could make out the shapely curve of his buttocks.

"You're not going to get very far in that." Kaiba's words caused Jounouchi to jump.

"Jesus fucking Christ, don't you make any sound when you walk?" Jounouchi snapped in return. "And hey, I had a plan. I was going to borrow a change of clothes from some doctor or resident."

"And they typically keep their belonging in lockers."

"I can break into lockers, I think."

Mindful of Jounouchi's injuries, Kaiba took the other's hand and tugged gently. "Come on, you need to go back to your room. The hospital is still crawling with paparazzi. I will have them lock you in the damn room if you refuse to cooperate like a good patient."

"Ugh, I hate hospitals. Can't I at least go back to the hotel?" Jounouchi groaned.

He reached out and poked Jounouchi's torso. "You have two broken ribs. You're not going anywhere until the doctor clears you."

"And you fell off the roof of the building! Shouldn't you be the one in a hospital bed?"

"It was just five stories. I'll have some trouble typing for a few weeks, nothing more." Kaiba held his hands up and flexed a few fingers. They were stiff and the gash across the palm of his left hand was probably going to pose the bigger issue. Still, he figured this would only cut into his usual productivity by about 30 percent.

Jounouchi's face went a livid red, but Kaiba couldn't be sure from what. Had the situation been something entirely different, the transition would have been even amusing to watch. "You could have died! What if your shareholders blame me? I do not want to have to deal with psychos like the Big Five again. Or Mokuba? God, he would have skinned me alive."

"Your concern is touching-"

"As if I care what happens to your scrawny ass."

"Really? Because I swore everyone within a mile radius must have heard you scream my name."

The red was definitely from outrage. But as the blond drew back a fist, Kaiba was starting to realize that maybe he had gone too far in testing Jounouchi's patience. He reached out and grabbed the wrist firmly- his head already filled with the scolding of various friends and family for giving in to such childish impulses. The touch seemed to only infuriate Jounouchi more and the added resistance was like a slap in Kaiba's face. He really didn't know how to deal with the blond sometimes- the bull-headness and the recklessness. He had half the mind to just knock him out here, as it looked like the only way he was ever going to get Jounouchi to comply.

"Dear God, will you two jackasses get out of the way?" As they stood struggling in the middle of the hallway, an irate Anzu seated in a wheelchair was pushed up by a bemused Yugi.

Jounouchi just stared at the pair with his jaw agape and asked, "What are you two doing here? Don't tell me you're here to check up on me too."

Anzu gave a sudden sweet smile before pointing to her belly. "Jounouchi, I really am glad you're safe and sound. But the world doesn't revolve around you. Now if you just get out of the way, I can finally get this thing out of me!"

Jounouchi's eyes grew wide as saucers. "Really? Right now?"

"Yes, right now, Jounouchi. And if you don't move, your cracked ribs are going to be the least of your problems." Her smile held, but barely.

Yugi quickly weaved around his wife in the wheelchair and embraced Jounouchi. "My other self and I are really glad you're okay. We were all so worried about you." As he pulled away from the hug, a sly smile overtook his face before continuing, "Kaiba even pulled out the Millennium Items for you."

"Yami," Kaiba growled in warning.

The pompous smirk slipped away when Yugi returned in control and to being the beaming expectant father behind the wheelchair. "I'm sorry that Anzu and I have to get going. We'll send out pictures of the baby as soon as we can."

Kaiba pulled the frozen Jounouchi out of the way and down onto a bench against the wall. Anzu thanked him as she and Yugi sped past. Though unexpected, he was glad the encounter had taken place. Even if only momentarily, Jounouchi seemed to have forgotten all about the paparazzi, his father, or the troubles with his manager. The blond stared down the hallway where his two friends had gone with a large and silly grin.

"Oh my God, Yugi and Anzu are really having a kid!" Jounouchi laughed with a sparkle in the eye.

At six in the morning, the halls were still mostly empty and the light coming through the window at the end of the hall cast everything in a golden glow. It was insanely picturesque and for the first time in two days, Kaiba felt at peace with the world. It was...nice to see Jounouchi smile again. He scooted over on the bench until he was sitting right next to Jounouchi. He could feel the warmth of the other body brush against his. The phone in his pocket gave a buzz with yet another incoming call. Kaiba ignored it and reached into his other coat pocket.

"Here, you probably want this back." He offered Jounouchi the cellphone with the Black Eyes Red Dragon charm.

"How'd you find it?" Jounouchi grabbed the phone and began scrolling through the messages on the cracked screen.

"We found it in the taxi cab. We had hoped it would lead us to you."

Jounouchi rested the phone in his lap and ran a finger across the crack on the screen. The bright display currently showed the firsts in a long string of missed calls. "You were really worried, weren't you?"

Jounouchi's accusation made Kaiba's fingers itch; he wanted something to distract him from the increasingly awkward conversation and the growing stiffness in his fingers. "Everyone was, especially your sister and Sophia."

"I can't understand what Sophie was thinking. Why would she bring a gun?" Jounouchi looked up to meet his gaze.

"She was probably trying to protect you like everyone else."

"I don't need anyone to protect me. I've always managed."

Kaiba laughed bitterly. "Really? The last time you said that Mai took your soul. The time before that, Malik nearly killed you. And the time before that, your father stabbed you. When are you going to learn that stubbornness is not necessarily a beneficial trait to survival? Is it so bad to have other people care about you?"

Jounouchi remained silent. After a few moments of silence, Kaiba took the other man's hand with great reluctance. Jounouchi jumped and a startled expression came over his face. He stared at their intertwined hands like a deer caught in the headlights.

Kaiba continued, "Shizuka has already hired a defense attorney on Chang's behalf, one of the best in the country. Malik is going to keep one ear on the police. Your agency has released a statement on your behalf and they're probably flying someone out here to meet up with you. Your mother will be back in the city within the hour." He began to wonder when he became the central communication hub for all things Jounouchi Katsuya.

Jounouchi continued to stare at their hands like it was some puzzle to be solved. He ran his fingertips over the bandage wrapped around Kaiba's hand. Kaiba could barely feel the touch through the gauze.

"So just stay put for once and focus on getting better again. Neither Chang nor I put our necks out on the line to see you hurt yourself again. It's..." The feeling of hypocrisy steadily creeping up on him made the next words difficult to voice.

"Selfish?" Jounouchi supplied with the smallest hint of a smile.

Kaiba nodded mutely.

"That's not going to be easy, it's not my nature. I'm probably going to be grumpy and irritable again in a few hours."

Kaiba had to wonder where this well of patience came from. "I'm sure Yugi and Anzu will have a baby to show off by then."

Jounouchi shuddered as he breathed a sudden and loud sigh of relief. "Thanks for coming to get me, Kaiba."

He remained silent and returned the squeeze of the blond's hand.

-x-x-x-

After an hour of sitting in Jounouchi's hospital room, Kaiba stood without speaking and left. Jounouchi couldn't help but feel disappointed when Kaiba didn't return. When he asked the two bodyguards that remained outside his door, they reported that the CEO had gone to work. He watched TV for the next two hours, while doing his utmost to avoid any news or entertainment programs. A doctor checked in on him twice and a nurse left breakfast with the bodyguards around nine.

"I should ask someone to bring me a laptop." He muttered as he replied to emails on his cellphone's small keypad.

By around ten o'clock, he was starting to genuinely feel a little bit better. His mood was further bolstered by visit from Shizuka and his mother- even his mother's henpecking didn't bother him as much as usual.

"Has everyone else stopped by?" She asked as she took one of his hands.

He thought back to the moment he shared with Kaiba earlier. "Yeah, Kaiba was here earlier and Malik and Bakura were here last night. I saw Yugi and Anzu when they came into this morning for the baby."

He was actually glad none of his friends and family were making a bigger deal of things. His mother bent over the bed and gave him a hug that was tight, but not too tight. Jounouchi hadn't seen his mother look that somber since his last unfortunate encounter with his father. He grabbed one of her hands as she pulled away and squeezed. "It's not your fault."

"I know that. But there's a part of me that still thinks that. And as much as I might want to have wished I never knew that monster, I wouldn't have the two of you either."

At the mention of Tanaka, Shizuka lowered her gaze. "But I was the one that-"

He cut his sister off before she could finish. He didn't want to watch his mother and sister play the blame game with each other. "I heard everything from Malik yesterday. He would have done this whether or not you acknowledged him; it's not your fault. It's nobody's fault."

"When can you check out of the hospital?" His mother was quick to change the subject.

He shifted to relieve the pressure of the wrappings around his torso. "The doctor recommends that I stay put for another day or two. Although I wouldn't be surprised if Kaiba tried to 'convince' me to stay longer."

"You could stay with Hiroto and me." Shizuka offered with a bright smile.

"I've seen your apartment, you don't really have enough room to put me up."

Not to mention, he would feel completely awkward and like a third wheel all the time.

"You could come home with me then. I'll have the room now that your sister is moving back out." Michi gave Shizuka a pointed look.

"Uh, thanks, Kaa-san, I'll think about it." But the truth was that the idea was even more horrifying than being Shizuka and Honda's third wheel.

His mother frowned. "You're not going back to America right away?"

"Nah, I talked with my agency. They agreed it would probably be better for me to recover here before returning to work. I need to see Sophie through all this. Kaiba said you already had an attorney lined up?"

"Rebecca and I were both at the station when they brought her in. I overheard some of the officers saying she used her only call to contact your agency to let them know what was happening." Shizuka dug into her purse and handed him a business card.

"Jesus Christ, she chooses the worst time to develop work ethics," he muttered in disbelief.

"I asked Kaiba-san to recommend an attorney and he referred me to one of the lawyers his company retains. I'm not really sure what happened from there."

As Jounouchi stared at the name on the card, he couldn't help but recall his last dealings with a KaibaCorp lawyer. He just hoped not all of Kaiba's lawyers were as crazy or as conniving as Oka had been.

-x-x-x-

Kaiba wasn't sure if he was glad for the company or not when he returned to the hospital later that evening. Rebecca, Mokuba, and he stopped by Anzu's room on their way to Jounouchi's. Rebecca rushed straight from the door to the other woman's bedside to coo over the baby tucked in her arms. Yugi stood up and walked over to greet them.

"Oh, she's adorable!" Rebecca squealed in English before clasping a hand over her mouth at the baby's cry.

"Congratulations, Yugi." Mokuba offered a hand to the former Duel King.

"Thanks, Mokuba." Yugi shifted his weight to peer around Mokuba at Kaiba standing near the door. "I went to see Jounouchi earlier. Thank you for going after him, Kaiba-kun."

Yugi's gentle and shining smile continued to unnerve him much as it did when they were teenagers. Kaiba gave a non-committal grunt instead. But the briefest of a thoughtful expression suggested that either Yugi or Yami would have something more to say. He stepped around his brother and the other man as they engaged in idle conversation.

Anzu passed the newborn to Rebecca, who cooed at the baby cradled in her arms. Anzu smiled cheekily at him- probably because she already knew the answer to her next question.

"Would you like to hold her, Kaiba-kun?" she asked.

Kaiba didn't really have much interest in children, especially the ones yet to grasp the ability of speech. He shook his head. "No thank you, Rebecca is having far too much fun poking your first-born to death."

Rebecca just rolled her eyes and resumed tickling the baby softly. "Come on, let's leave this old grumpy man alone." She walked away to join Mokuba and Yugi chatting at the other end of the room.

Kaiba looked the other woman up and down. Even though he had been one of the first alerted to the mother and baby's good health, it was good to see it in person. He would be lying if he didn't admit to being glad that Anzu had delivered her child safely. He just wasn't going to say it out loud.

Instead he said, "Motherhood suits you, Mazaki."

She sighed slightly at the use of her maiden name. "Not a fan of children?"

"Not unless they add to my company's bottom line."

"Not going to be a problem. Between Yugi and Yami, she'll be Duel Queen by the time she's five."

"I'm sure Rebecca and Jounouchi would love to help with that."

"Speaking of Jounouchi," she scowled suddenly. "Would you please try and talk some sense into him? He can't just go back to the hotel after he's released from the hospital. He's already turned down staying with Shizuka-chan or his mother. He told Yugi he'd think about it when we offered him a place, but you and I both know that's a lie. Two broken ribs are not light injuries and he needs to get lots of rest, and there should be someone there in case of complications."

Kaiba frowned. While this turn of events wasn't particularly unexpected, he had hoped their talk this morning knocked some sense into Jounouchi. "He's being stubborn again."

"He wouldn't be Jounouchi, if he wasn't."

Yugi returned to his initial position besides Anzu. The couple smiled at each other and simultaneously leaned in for a kiss. Yugi beamed brighter when he drew away with one hand still firmly grasping Anzu's.

"Have you guys already decided on a name?" Mokuba joined Rebecca in her poking of the baby and elicited an immediate squeal.

"Mutou Manami, or Mana-chan." Anzu proclaimed as her head drooped against Yugi's shoulder. The husband and wife shared another look.

"Oh, Mana-chan, I am going to spoil you rotten. Just you wait." Mokuba declared.

Another timely squeal filled the room.

Kaiba took the opportunity to slip away as Yugi and Yami began to bicker about the events surrounding Anzu's delivery. The stares he drew as he strolled through the hallways were both expected and inevitable. He quickened his pace to reach Jounouchi's eighth story room, where Kira and Hino were still standing guard at the door.

"Seto-sama." Both bodyguards bowed in unison as he approached.

"Has there been any trouble?" Kaiba scanned the halls for more reporters incognito.

"Jounouchi-sama has had several visitors, all within the permission group you specified. He is currently meeting with Otonashi-san regarding the legal consul of his manager." Hino reported.

"Good." He walked past the two and into the room unannounced.

The grave expression on Jounouchi's face was unlike anything Kaiba had ever seen on the other man. Otonashi sat rod straight in the chair facing the bed with her leather briefcase resting in her lap.

When she began to get up from her seat, he held up a hand and shook his head. "No need, Otonashi. Just continue what you were doing."

She stood regardless and bowed. "I was just about to take my leave, Seto-sama," she returned to addressing Jounouchi. "They will continue to hold Chang-san until the prosecutor announces the charges. But I do suggest holding a press conference sooner, rather than later. It will be your one chance to sway public opinion before charges. I must be on my way, but I will keep in contact if my client has more messages to pass onto you."

Before Otonashi left, she stopped before him and bowed again. "Seto-sama."

The room became silent after Otonashi shut the door behind her. He crossed his arms over his chest and studied Jounouchi for a few moments. He noted that the other man looked a lot better after rest and a few meals. It helped that Jounouchi wasn't constantly frowning or growling at every opportunity.

"Uh, so what's up, Kaiba?"

"Mokuba and Rebecca wanted to see the baby."

"Oh." Jounouchi's mood deflated.

Kaiba's gaze fell on the large bouquet of flowers sitting on the windowsill. "From your fans?" He strolled over, his fingers brushing against the soft petals as he plucked out the card. He ignored the message within in favor of the signature lining the bottom of the card.

"Mai sent it, actually; a get-well-soon present, I guess."

There was a long stretch of silence as he stared at Kujaku Mai's signature and Jounouchi at his back. Kaiba tossed the card back into the pile of flowers and earned a bit of a glare when it slipped to the ground. "So what are your plans from here on?"

"Sophie and I will ride this out like we always do. And I think I owe you dinner."

Kaiba felt tension roll off his shoulders in waves. The promise of banter and the sparkle of life in Jounouchi's eyes both took the edge off his day and put him on edge. "I doubt that will go unnoticed by the paparazzi."

The blond man rolled his eyes. "Seriously, Kaiba? Your goons outside are a bigger red flag. What's wrong with two friends having dinner together?"

He marched over to Jounouchi's bedside and looked down into the man's eyes. "And friends rescue each other from life-or-death situations?"

"With us? Yeah!" Jounouchi burst out in laughter and mirth. "Sometimes I think that's all we do!"

"Jounouchi, you need to go somewhere safe when they discharge you."

The blond man's mood deflated again. "So did Anzu send you up to bug me about that? How can I stay with any of them in good conscience? The reporters trying to get around the hotel were bad enough, but to put everyone else through that? Shizuka and Honda are just starting to get better. Yugi and Anzu are going to be busy enough with Mana-chan. You tell me who I should be burdening myself on, Kaiba."

"I have a place where you can stay while you recover."

Jounouchi sat up straighter and glared suspiciously at him. "It's not your place, is it?"

The very thought made Kaiba's blood run even colder than usual. "Of course not," he snapped. "I was referring to one of the corporate apartments, like the one I let Rebecca throw the baby shower at."

"You've done enough, Kaiba."

"I'm not giving it to you for free. It's a short-term lease until you recover. The security is good, so you shouldn't be disturbed." When Jounouchi failed to look convinced, Kaiba added, "If you agree to it, you can leave the hospital whenever you want."

They both knew that would be far sooner than Kaiba or anyone else would have preferred.

"You won't interfere?" Jounouchi remained wary.

Kaiba nodded.

"Fine, but don't you try and get the doctor to screw me out of this."

As Jounouchi's shoulders slumped in defeat, Kaiba's chest swelled with smug satisfaction.

-x-x-x-

The next day, Jounouchi's lunch was accompanied by a portfolio from the Kaiba Corporation. Inside was the paperwork with the short-term lease to the apartment Kaiba mentioned. He skimmed the terms briefly and penned his signature onto the paper.

_You win this round, Kaiba_. Jounouchi thought to himself as he handed the folder back to the bodyguard.

When the doctor came in to check on him after lunch, he started the paperwork for his release.

-x-x-x-

Jounouchi gave a start when the doorbell rang. Claudia and he looked up from the papers spread across the coffee table to look at the front door. He rose and went to get it with some trepidation.

"Kaiba!" He stared at the business man standing in the doorway.

Without even a greeting, Kaiba stepped into the apartment and shoved a large paper shopping bag into Jounouchi's arms. Jounouchi caught it despite his surprise and the scent of takeout from the bag immediately made his stomach rumble. Kaiba shed his loafers at the door and deposited his suit jacket on the coat rack next to the door, before making his way to the living room. After a few seconds of staring stunned at the empty doorway, Jounouchi shook his head to clear it. He juggled the bag in one hand and closed the door with the other.

In the living room, Kaiba ignored Claudia and was instead watching the evening entertainment news they had running in the background as they worked. Jounouchi put the food down on the corner of the coffee table that was clear.

"Is that Seto Kaiba?" Claudia jerked her head in the direction of the silent man.

"The one and only," grumbled Jounouchi in English.

She stood and strolled over to where Kaiba was lounging on the couch. With a bright smile on her face, she extended a hand forward as she spoke, "Hi, I'm Claudia Bennett, a senior representative with the New Horizons Talent Agency. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mister Kaiba."

Kaiba looked the woman up and down. He inclined his head to address Jounouchi in Japanese, "Chang's replacement?"

Jounouchi made the conscious effort to reply in English, knowing Kaiba damn well understood and trying not to offend Claudia. "Claudia specializes in crisis management and was kind enough to fly out here as soon as she heard about the situation."

"Hmm," was all Kaiba said in reply before turning his attention back to the TV.

Claudia retreated from the CEO and returned to where she was seated before. She began shoving papers back into her briefcase. "I see he's as charming as rumors say. I better be getting back to my hotel then. We'll work out the rest of this tomorrow, Joey."

Jounouchi walked her to the door where he bid her a good night. When she left, it felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Leave it to Kaiba to somehow get him out of an uncomfortable situation with rudeness. He went back to the living room, crossed his arms over his chest, and glared at his unexpected guest. "You could have called ahead."

Kaiba smirked. "Was I interrupting something important?"

Jounouchi threw himself down on the couch next to Kaiba and didn't bother to mask his childish satisfaction at Kaiba's annoyance. "I guess you could say that. They had Claudia fly out here as soon as they heard. Apparently, I've just moved up on the 'priority list' for the agency." Just making the air quotes with his hands filled him with disgust.

"You should know there's no such thing as bad press in your line of work."

"Excuse me for thinking it's a bit sleazy to profit off my father's death and the arrest of one of my best friends. I bet you're having a field day with this, getting to be the knight in shining armor. I bet your stock prices even went up."

"They did, highest price we've had all quarter."

Jounouchi threw his hands up in the air in defeat. "Screw you, Kaiba."

"Maybe after dinner."

Jounouchi's jaw dropped. He must have been hallucinating or maybe it had something to do with his pain medication. When Kaiba turned to face Jounouchi fully with his self-satisfied smirk, Jounouchi could feel the heat rushing toward his face. This had to be outrage, he insisted to himself. And on a better day, he would have had an equally unexpected retort. Just not today...

He stood abruptly, grabbed the bag of takeout, and walked over to the kitchen island instead. It took a few minutes of rummaging through the cupboards to find both plates and silverware. Meanwhile, the news continued to play in the background, and Jounouchi half-listened as they finished up a story about some drama actor he wasn't quite familiar with. He pulled out the contents of the bag and sniffed each box carefully. Jounouchi hesitantly asked, "Thai food?"

An affirmative grunt came from the Kaiba still planted on the couch.

The next story that came up was about the press conference Jounouchi held earlier that day. He immediately focused his attention on the Pad Thai he was plating as his earlier words filled the apartment: "I would like to thank my family, friends, and fans for all the support they've given over the last few days. My family and I regret the unfortunate passing of my father, Jounouchi Tanaka, but we throw our full support behind my manager, Sophia Chang. Sophia made a difficult choice and did what she did to save my life. For that, I am eternally grateful for everything she has done for me. I would not be standing before you here today if not for Sophia. We hope that the prosecutor will also recognize that fact."

The sofa groaned slightly when Kaiba stood and came over. He went straight for the third cabinet on the right for a bottle of red wine. He looked thoughtfully at Jounouchi, before putting the bottle back and pulling two cans of green tea from the refrigerator.

"What? Bored of me already?" Jounouchi asked.

"I saw the live stream earlier."

Jounouchi ignored the shiver running down his spine at the realization that Kaiba was paying attention to him. They resettled next to each other on the sofa once they put the food and drinks on the coffee table.

Clips of his earlier press conference continued to play on the television: "Sources have indicated that Kaiba Seto-san has been heavily involved with your rescue, Joey-san. Do you have any comments about that?" one reporter asked.

Jounouchi and his sister shared a glance with each other on screen. They had both expected this question to come up.

Shizuka smiled; it was sweet, utterly disarming, and just what the situation called for. "My brother's friends were all instrumental to helping us find him in time; we wouldn't have been able to do that without any of them. Kaiba-san is no different and has been a dear friend of the family for years. We don't know how to thank him for helping us so in our hour of need."

Jounouchi piqued in good humor, "Besides who else knows more about attempts on his life than Kaiba Seto."

The show then cut to several commentators with their opinions, before Kaiba reached for the remote to mute the program. Jounouchi couldn't help but snicker when he noticed the annoyance furrowed across Kaiba's brow. "What?" Jounouchi asked before shoving a mouthful of noodles. "Too flippant, you think?"

"I give it a three out of five, probably would have gone over better with the American media."

"At least I wasn't hanging out of a helicopter."

"I don't do that anymore...much..."

Jounouchi hid his snicker behind a can of tea. He managed to take a few more bites of his food before Kaiba spoke again.

"I hadn't asked before, but how are you feeling?"

Jounouchi shrugged slightly. "I've been sore all day, but the pain medication's been helping. Other than running from reporters, I haven't done much all day. You weren't kidding when you said security was good here."

"I'm more concerned with what happened with your father." Kaiba caught and held Jounouchi's gaze.

"I don't know. How'd you feel when your adoptive father trapped you in a virtual reality hell and tried to steal your body? My old man just wanted to off me, yours wanted to be you. Now that was creepy as fuck." Jounouchi waved a stick of chicken satay for emphasis.

"Touche."

"I haven't had a father since I was nine. He's gone for good now. And I don't ever have to worry about him again."

"But you're a better person than that, I know. You wish it hadn't ended like this."

Jounouchi tightened his grip around the can. "How could I? There's another media circus going up around me, Sophie's in jail, and my chest hurts like hell."

"At least the world is safe from underground cults, evil soul-sucking serpent gods, and body-hijacking tomb robbers."

Kaiba's deadpan delivery caught Jounouchi off-guard, causing him to chortle expectantly. "I never thought I'd see the day where you'd actually cheer me up."

The smirk on Kaiba's face softened into an almost smile. Jounouchi turned his head aside to hide the smile crawling across his own lips. Several minutes later, a text message came from Otonashi saying Sophie was not going to be charged with murder, manslaughter, and any other felony starting with the letter "m." Jounouchi gave a loud whoop and threw his arms around Kaiba in celebration.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1) As far as I could find in my research, there are no citations like the American Miranda rights/warnings given at time of arrest in Japan. Suspects do have the right to remain silent, as guaranteed by Article 38 of the Japanese Constitution.


	17. Interlude II- The Present

Through the bond Yugi shared with his other self, he could feel both the awe and the suspicion warring within Yami. Yugi carefully shifted the bundle in his arms- for fear of waking their four-day old daughter.

"Wouldn't you prefer a son? Someone who could carry on your bloodlines?" Yami asked.

Yugi knew his other self didn't mean to offend, but a fierce wave of protectiveness washed over him. "She is Anzu's and my daughter, I wouldn't have anyone but her," he glanced furtively over to Yami's spirit form. "She's your daughter too, other me."

His other self was thunderstruck. Yugi couldn't help but ponder over how young Yami still was, his spirit still casting the image of a teenage king forever frozen in time. Yami didn't have children in his lifetime- of which Yugi was mostly sure- and probably didn't have much exposure to very young ones as a Pharaoh. Perhaps that was why he could feel the anxiety suddenly bleeding through their link.

"Would you like to hold her?"

Yami gave a start and drew back slightly before catching his own hesitation. "Aibou, I don't think that'd be a good idea."

"Come on, Yami. She's an angel." Yugi shifted his grip higher, demonstrating the proper way to hold a baby. "See? You just need to make sure to support her head like this. And don't drop her." Without another word, he thrust control into Yami's grasp and fought the disorientation as he jumped from his physical body to occupying the space Yami stood just seconds ago.

Yami looked down at the baby in his arms with horror and his limbs locked up like a statue. There was the slight glint of panic in his dark red eyes. "Yugi, I really don't think this is a good idea."

"If you can learn to text, then you can learn to hold a baby fine."

"But what if I hurt her?"

Suddenly, Yugi became all too aware of the resonance coming from the Puzzle. Yami's magic was responding to Yami's anxiety. He knew it was nothing threatening to him or his newborn daughter, but it was there and it gave a tangible weight to the air.

"I know you would never hurt Mana-chan," Yugi declared.

"You can't guarantee that. You haven't forgotten how I used to be? At first?"

Yugi bit his lower lip as he floated over to Yami and his daughter. He would never forget the days when Yami first awoke- his days filled with terrifying blackouts and lapses in memory that he still couldn't recall to this day. But he had mostly made peace with that fact.

"Aibou, she's so important to you. Maybe we should have done the ceremonial duel years ago."

Their eyes locked and Yugi's stomach plummeted. There was no denying they had been putting it off for years now, but Yugi was planning on putting it off for decades more if Yami was willing. He thought this was what they both wanted. "Do you want to leave?"

"You know that's not what I mean, Aibou. But we may have to face the fact that my leaving here is long overdue. I probably should have left before you and Anzu wed." Despite the former king's attempt to hide it, his expression spoke of rejection, and it was bleeding even more through their link.

He placed his arms around Yami's shoulders and managed an awkward midair hug. He knew Yami wouldn't be able to actually feel more than the ghost of a touch, but he hoped the actual gesture would convey everything he wanted to. "You're important to me, too. That's never going to change because we're family. It's going to be strange, but I want you in her life too. You can protect her from the things I can't." Yugi hated that thought the most- it was distressing to admit he would probably never be able to protect his daughter from some of the most terrible things in existence. But that fact was never going to keep him from trying to protect her or Anzu.

In Yami's arm, the baby moved and made a noise- causing them both to freeze fearfully. Anzu was sleeping undisturbed for the first time in three days.

"Only because more than half of those things are drawn to you because of me." Yami muttered.

Mana popped open bleary blue eyes at his words. Yugi held his breath as his daughter stared up into the face of the former king. Yami, perhaps not knowing what else to do, returned the unblinking stare in full force.

"I guess she can't tell the difference yet." Yugi chuckled. But as soon as the words left Yugi's incorporeal mouth, Mana let out an ear-shattering shriek and burst into tears.

"Yugi!"

"Yugi?" Anzu and her large sleep-tousled hair appeared in the doorway of the nursery.

"Anzu, please take her." Yami turned immediately to the woman and extended the child in offering.

"Yami? Is that you? Where's Yugi?" She glanced over at the empty spot Yami had gestured toward. "Right, only you can see him. Come on, Yami, this is as good a time as any for you to learn how to take care of the baby."

Yugi followed them into the kitchen, where Anzu gave a crash course on formula preparation. At Yami went through the process himself, each movement grew more sure. He hugged his wife, who shivered a little despite not being able to see him in his current form.

"Hi, Yugi," she whispered.

He just smiled and they watched as Yami fed Manami. No, the four of them would not be a conventional family by any stretch- but his daughter was going to grow up all the more blessed as a result.


	18. Track 15- Codetta

_Who was I to get in the way of destiny? Certainly not little old me, Jounouchi Katsuya- underdog duelist and former gangbanger. I've never been one to really suffer from low self-esteem. Honda always said I was too confident for my own good 98 percent of the time. But destiny? Truly extraordinary people like Yugi and Yami got destinies- not poor and regular joes like me and Honda; we were lucky enough to come along for the ride. Yet Kaiba, a man without a drop of imagination in his soul, apparently had one._

_I had thought it was painful to watch Priest Set and Kisara dance around each other, but watching Kaiba Seto avoid Ryuujin Kisara like a plague was a thousand times worse. Kisara was everything a guy could want, right? She was smart, pretty, sweet, and came from a rich family. She was literally the entire package- and she should damn well be good enough for the high and mighty Kaiba Seto. It was insanely frustrating during those rare occasions when the two were even in the same room, and it always made me want to tear my own hair out after the first two minutes._

_Today, it seemed Kisara was tired of it too._

_Mokuba went all out for his thirteenth birthday- the poor kid said something about not having properly celebrated a birthday since he was five. The catering spread was even more impressive than the majority of Kaiba Corp-sponsored events. It didn't surprise us that neither Kaibas held back for the occasion._

_"Man, there are a lot of suits here." Honda examined the occupants of the large room with apprehension._

_It was true. At first glance, it looked like there were two separate parties happening in the same place. To one side were all cliques of the stuffy and suited business people, and to the other was the crowds of rowdy teens and preteens. A normal rich person would have just thrown two parties instead._

_Kisara came flying out of the crowd with Mokuba on her tail and clung tightly to Shizuka. "I'm so glad you're all here. I don't know anyone else here."_

_If I was to complain about something about Kisara, it would be her timidness. I couldn't help but compare her to the Kisara I had seen in Yami's memory- the one who had given her life for Seth without fear or hesitation. Maybe it was because she no longer had that part of her that made up the Blue Eyes White Dragon, or maybe it was just the sheltered life she led until now._

_I reached over and gave her hair a soft ruffle, earning a faint smile. "We'll keep you from being bored out of your skull."_

_Mokuba pouted. "I resent that!"_

_Kisara was quick to try and correct me. "Mokuba-kun, I'm sure Jounouchi-san doesn't really mean that. It's a fantastic party."_

_"Do you really mean that Kisara-chan?" Mokuba's eyes literally lit up as he spoke._

_"Uh oh," Honda muttered quietly behind me. "I think Mokuba's got a crush on somebody."_

_"Mokuba-kun, where should we put our gifts?" Yugi asked._

_"Ah, you guys didn't have to!" Mokuba grabbed Yugi by the arm and directed our attention to a table full of gifts hidden behind a large chocolate fountain. "Nii-sama already buys me everything that I can ask for. I wanted to have this party to celebrate with everyone."_

_"You're such a sweet kid, sometimes. Are you really related to Kaiba?" I asked as I scanned the room for signs of the older brother in question._

_"If you're looking for Nii-sama, I think he's hiding out in the staff kitchen." Mokuba pointed to an inconspicuous door on the right side of the wall._

_While Mokuba was distracted by Yugi and the others, I was too busy watching Kisara slip away and through the previously mentioned door. I tried to focus on the conversation at hand, but my mind kept wandering in the direction of Kaiba, Kisara, and the door._

_"I'm gonna go check out the food."_

_Yugi may have nodded in reply, but everyone was too busy staring at the elaborate chocolate fountain decorated with candy figures of Capsule Monsters. I glanced over at the table of food before following Kisara. I wasn't being nosy. I was worried- for Kisara's sake because Kaiba was a grade A jerk ninety percent of the time._

_I wasn't being nosy._

_The staff kitchen must have been the size of my mom's apartment. Right through the door, I had to dance around two chefs charging through with a trolley of tiny cakes. People glared at me, but no one bothered to kick me out._

_Over several rows of cooktops, I spotted Kisara thanking a chef before rounding the next corner. Several more people yelled at me as I weaved through the kitchen. I ignored them all. The dine of cooking and orders quieted when I finally trekked down the hall Kisara went._

_I could see some type of pantry through the door left open at the end of the hall. There was nowhere else to go. Kisara and probably Kaiba were there. I crept closer and hated that I felt like some crackpot stalker. I should just stroll in there like I don't give a damn- because I don't._

_At the door, I could definitely hear two different voices from inside._

_"Why are you avoiding me, Kaiba-san?" Kisara asked._

_I flattened myself against the wall next to the door before peering around the door frame. Kaiba leaned back against a tall shelf of pasta and rice. I couldn't help but notice the way that posture accentuated his long legs. Before him, Kisara rocked nervously back and forth on the heel of her shoes while wringing her hands._

_"What gives you that impression?"_

_"Maybe because you try to leave the room every time I come in or the way you refuse to speak to me half the time? I want us to be friends." As Kisara took another step forward, Kaiba visibly leaned back more. "I don't understand. Have I done something to offend you? Is there something you want to tell me? Your friends always seem like they want to say something to you or me."_

_Kaiba raised an eyebrow. "Friends?"_

_"Yugi-san and everyone."_

_"Yugi and I are not friends. I'm not friends with any of those losers." He hissed loudly, causing Kisara to jump._

_I had to smother the outrage so I wouldn't just barge into the room. After everything we had been through and after everything we tried to do for Kaiba, he still didn't think of us as friends. I was honestly more offended on behalf of Yugi- as he would be the one most hurt by Kaiba's callous words._

_Kaiba continued, "I think you harbor some assumptions about me, Ryuujin. I am not the kind of man that cares to have friends, and I think you're being dishonest when you claim to want to be my friend. I think you want more."_

_Kisara's lips quivered. "I like you so very much, Kaiba-san."_

_And for a moment, even the distant sound of the kitchen and Mokuba's party was entirely swallowed by the silence in that pantry. Kaiba remained bored looking, and Kisara looked like she both wanted to and didn't want to be in that room more than anything in the world._

_I wanted to strangle him for what he said next: "I know, and I don't care. I will never have any feelings for you other than apathy."_

_Kisara recoiled as if Kaiba had physically slapped her. "I'm sorry to have bothered you then, Kaiba-san." She bowed swiftly- probably to hide her tears- and raced out of the room._

_"Wait, Kisara." I called as she flew by._

_For a moment, she froze in her steps. She spoke but wouldn't turn to face me. "Please pretend as if nothing happened, Jounouchi-san."_

_And then she was gone._

_I turned, ready to give Kaiba a piece of my mind, and nearly ran straight into him as he exited, "Kaiba, you bastard!"_

_I wish he could have at least looked like he was surprised to see me there. Instead, it left me feeling not much different than the position Kisara must have been in moments ago._

_"Eavesdropping, bonkotsu?"_

_I grabbed the lapel of his suit jacket, wrinkling the fabric as I tried to push him back. "You're an asshole. Why couldn't you be nicer? You didn't have reject poor Kisara like that."_

_"I wasn't aware I had to account my every action to you. Her schoolgirl crush routine was annoying at best. There's no point in drawing it out as I will never have any interest of that kind in Ryuujin Kisara."_

_"You hurt her feelings."_

_"And she'll get over it," he sneered. "And you do realize how inappropriate this must appear to an outsider's perspective?"_

_My stomach lurched as I turned my head in the direction that he had indicated. There was a flurry of movement as the staff previously clustered around the corner ran back into the kitchen, and we were alone again._

_"You need to apologize," I growled._

_"No."_

_My right hook must have caught him off guard. I returned to the party to find that Kisara had already left- much to Mokuba's disappointment, and Kaiba spent the rest of the evening recounting how he'd "tripped" to explain his bruised cheek._

-x-x-x-

It was by chance that Kaiba glanced at his cellphone during the meeting on the new product line development. The text message from Honda was a heads-up on the news that would hit the net in minutes: Sophia Chang was going to be charged with illegal gun possession and she had already confessed to the charge.

Kaiba remembered how ecstatic Jounouchi had been with Otonashi's text. His day was constantly plagued by the smell of Thai food and the feel of Jounouchi's lean body. The news that Sophia was not being charged with a greater offense was just a foot-in-the-door to soften the blow of the actual charge. But Kaiba knew Jounouchi, who wasn't really all that different from his teenage self- and Jounouchi wasn't going to be happy about this.

When the meeting ended an hour later, he dialed Jounouchi's number and got the actor's voicemail instead. After contacting the rest of the group, it became obvious Jounouchi was working on seeing Sophia face-to-face. Another call to Otonashi told him that the attorney had already made arrangements on Jounouchi's behalf to see Sophia at police holding. He sat at his desk and stared at his computer screen for a few moments. Jounouchi didn't need or appreciate a babysitter, and Kaiba hated to think he may already be fishing for excuses to see him again. Yet he was curious about why Sophia had confessed- she didn't seem like the type to give in or give up easily.

He buzzed his administrative assistant, "Move the rest of my meetings today."

Sachiko sighed loudly at the other end. "Of course, Seto-sama."

"And tell my driver to wait for me downstairs," he added as he pulled on his suit jacket.

Kaiba caught up with Jounouchi at the entrance of the police station. He noted that the blond had come alone and couldn't help but frown. It must have been by some miracle that Jounouchi managed to get here without the reporters camping the apartment building.

"What are you doing here?" Jounouchi asked halfheartedly.

"I wanted to see what Chang has to say."

As they entered the building, a woman in a red kimono passed them on her way out. Unable to ignore the strange and bone-chilling feeling gnawing on the back of his skull, Kaiba turned to stare at the retreating back. She gave no indication of noticing his open stare and vanished into Domino's midday crowd.

"Something wrong, Kaiba?" Jounouchi asked, obviously impatient to see his manager.

He just shook his head.

After a trip through the metal detector, a police officer led them into a bare room with a metal table in the center. Sophia sat handcuffed to a ring set into the table.

"Are the handcuffs really necessary?" Jounouchi glared at the officer.

"Yes, and there's to be no physical contact." The officer planted himself against the room's door.

"You look well." Kaiba said.

Despite the fact she still wore the same clothes she was arrested in, Sophia Chang looked almost none the worse after four days of police detention. There were slightly darker circles around her eyes and the hand-shaped bruises around her neck had deepened into a purple, but her countenance was accepting and almost zen. She was vastly different from the frazzled woman during Jounouchi's kidnapping.

"Why did you do it, Sophie?" Jounouchi asked. He started to reach across the table for her hand before he caught himself.

"I did it to save you, Katsuya. I wasn't going to stand there and let him beat you to death. He already got the drop on me once." She rolled her head to the side and flinched.

"No, I meant confessing." Jounouchi's knuckles turned white as he tightened his fists in his lap.

Kaiba spoke up. "You're not even going to fight this, Chang? How pathetic."

She looked up straight into his eyes. "Kaiba, I've had far more time than I've deserved. It was always going to end like this. I was going to have to pay for my crimes no matter what."

"Sophie, we're not here to talk about the past."

"I shot a man. They weren't going to just let me walk out of here. I'm surprised they're not charging me with more than just gun possession."

"I'm prepared to fight this with you."

"You don't get to make my choices for me, Katsuya. I knew from the moment I bought that weapon that I would have to be prepared to use it and accept the consequences. I had the intention of owning up to this all along. I don't want this turning into a long protracted legal battle, for yours and my sakes."

"I won't abandon you."

"And I'm asking you to respect my decision."

The room lapsed into silence as Jounouchi and Sophia stared at each other. Their willful tug-o-war finally made Kaiba feel like he was intruding.

Breaking the quiet, Kaiba asked, "And you understand that this decision of yours entails a sentence of up to ten years?"

"Ms. Otonashi has been drilling that in my head all day. There's no going back now, I signed a written confession in the first hour of my arrest. There is no going back." As her voice remained steady through her words, Kaiba begrudged the growing respect he felt for her resolve. But the fatalistic determinism in her attitude continued to bug him.

She gave Jounouchi an encouraging smile. "This is not the end for you or me, Katsuya."

For the next few minutes, Jounouchi and Sophia chatted about what was going on. At the mention of Claudia Bennett, Sophia nearly snarled. Kaiba had to wonder about what sort of bad blood was between the two women. Jounouchi then showed off photos of the newest Mutou on his phone. That was when she fell silent.

"Are you thinking about Henry?" Jounouchi asked.

This new name seemed to rattle her a bit, because she looked down and clenched her fists tightly. "Henry will do fine. He's done fine without me all his life. She promised me that this would be the best path for him."

"Time's up." The officer at the door suddenly announced, causing Jounouchi and Sophia to jump a little.

"I'll come see you again soon." Jounouchi stood reluctantly after another moment.

As the officer turned to unlock the door, she called out to him, "Kaiba, she wanted me to deliver a message to you."

Kaiba furrowed his eyebrows. "She?"

"I swear she collects broken people like us as a hobby," Sophia laughed lowly with a tone edging on bitter. "She said you would know what it means: Make the best of your second chances, you won't get any more."

They were quickly ushered by the officer out of the room. Kaiba wasn't surprised to see Otonashi waiting outside. The lawyer gave a nod of acknowledgment before she headed in.

"Who's Henry?" Kaiba shouldn't have cared enough to ask, but his curiosity had been piqued by her parting words and the anticipation they left building in his spine.

"Henry's her estranged son."

The pieces of the mental puzzle suddenly clicked together into place. He couldn't explain how he knew, but he would never really know that full truth in reality. It was then that Kaiba figured out why the woman in the red kimono at the door felt so familiar.

-x-x-x-

Jounouchi refused to remain bedridden as he recovered from his broken ribs, but he followed doctor's orders about not further aggravating his injuries. He regularly received visitors at his short-term leased apartment and usually only ventured out to see Sophie or to make other work-related appearances. Not that he could go anywhere without being constantly stalked by reporters. He really hoped it wouldn't be so bad once he got back to the States.

Over the next few weeks before Sophie's first court date, Kaiba continued to drop by Jounouchi's apartment two or three times a week. He always came with a bag of takeout for dinner. At first, they would just watch TV or a movie until Kaiba decided it was time to go home. The fourth time Kaiba had caught Jounouchi while he was reviewing scripts, and they spent the rest of the evening snarking over the stack. It was after the fifth or sixth time Kaiba came over that Jounouchi realized they were effectively dating.

He confronted Kaiba about it the next time, "Are we dating?"

Kaiba paused so abruptly that Jounouchi had to wonder if this was the first time the thought had even occurred to the CEO. "I suppose if you insist on a label..."

They both remained silent for the next few moments as the reality sunk in. Jounouchi thoughtfully rubbed his chin before leaning over the dining table and planting a chaste kiss on Kaiba's cold lips. He was extremely pleased with himself when he recognized the surprise that widened Kaiba's eyes. Before Jounouchi could pull away, Kaiba grabbed his collar and reeled him in for a deeper kiss.

"That was nice," Jounouchi muttered breathlessly when they broke apart.

Kaiba, the infuriating bastard, smirked.

-x-x-x-

"Why did you leave?"

Kaiba's question caught Jounouchi off-guard when he returned from the bathroom. "Funny, you're the only person to ask that to my face so far."

"That's because they're all too happy to have you back at all. They want you to stay and that's good enough for most of them. The rest are just too polite to pry."

"But it's not good enough for you?"

"No, I'd rather know about why you fell off the face of the earth for 10 years," there was a brief pause. "The others seem to think it was mostly because of me."

Jounouchi lowered himself onto the couch next to Kaiba- their shoulders were just touching after he settled down. For several more moments of silence, he stared down at his hands resting in his lap. It had been years since he really thought about his reasoning for leaving, and those reasons seemed silly now as he was once again surrounded by his loving friends and family. "I didn't want to get left behind. I thought it might have been better if I left everyone before they could all leave me."

"That's stupid," was all Kaiba had to say in response.

"No shit," Jounouchi rolled his eyes. "I guess the idea of graduating from high school was overwhelming. God, I was going to have to grow up and be an adult. Everyone was so excited about it and I barely managed to get the grades to graduate the same semester with the rest of you. Everyone but me had plans: you and Otogi had your businesses, Yugi and Bakura were going off to college, Anzu was going off to pursue her dreams, and Honda had already found work- respectable work. I felt like I wouldn't be able to catch up with you guys, that even after everything we've been through together, we were going to drift apart and that would be the end of it. I didn't want to watch that happen."

Putting it into words- especially words spoken out loud to Kaiba Seto- made him feel very self-conscious.

"The ironic thing is that your disappearance strengthened the bond between your friends." Kaiba muttered softly.

"I was a no-good punk with no prospects and yet I was still full of myself. I thought I could make it on my own."

Suddenly, Jounouchi could feel the other man's fingers running through his hair. But whether it was because of Kaiba's small gesture of affection or simply talking through old, buried feelings, he relaxed and leaned into the touch. When Kaiba spoke again, Jounouchi could feel the breath caress more strands of his hair.

"We are who we are because of the choices we make."

He wasn't sure if Kaiba was actually addressing him or himself at that point, but decided to soldier past it. "I met Sophie about nine years ago when the production company she worked for in Hong Kong was shooting a movie in Tokyo. I was a background extra, but they were also looking for some guys to play some thugs for a scene; the pay was better. I tried out for it and afterwards, Sophie asked me what my name was. She said: 'Jounouchi Katsuya, I am going to make you a star.' I don't know what she saw in me then, she gave up almost everything to work with me. I had no training, was inexperienced and so lost."

"It's amazing you got as far as you did."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"I spent two years in your class in high school. Back then, you could barely string together two words in English without sounding like a complete imbecile." Kaiba rolled his eyes.

"Well, I showed you, didn't I, you smug sonuvabitch?" Jounouchi replied in English, puffing his chest with pride. It had taken many hours with a speech coach to lose the bulk of his accent.

The other man turned and smothered a quiet chuckle in Jounouchi's hair- the breath tickled across his earlobes and caused him to squirm. "You never fail to amaze me, Jounouchi...somehow."

-x-x-x-

Jounouchi shrank back as his father leaned in. The smell of alcohol was overwhelming when the toothy smile on Tanaka's face widened. "Up and at 'em, son."

He tried to sit up but found no strength in his arms or legs. He lay on the floor helplessly as a wave of pain made the darkness surrounding them spin in a kaleidoscope of colors. His father loomed overhead with a knife in one hand and Jounouchi struggled harder against his restraints.

"No," he croaked.

Tanaka pressed the muzzle of the gun against his side. "What? Too tired to get up? Maybe I should just put this dog down?"

"Katsuya!" His sister, mother, and Sophie screamed for him all at once.

"Jounouchi!" That was Kaiba.

And Jounouchi awoke with a jolt and a shout as his nightmare exploded with piercing pain and a shower of blood.

"Jounouchi, what's wrong?"

Outside the apartment window, Jounouchi could see the quarter moon hanging high in the night sky. The lamp on the end table behind Kaiba cast a warm halo. He looked down at the sweaty and shaking hands clenched tightly in his lap. Kaiba must have pulled a throw blanket over him when he fell asleep.

"Jounouchi," Kaiba's words were more stern this time as he grabbed hold of Jounouchi's shoulders. "You were tossing and turning."

He suddenly realized he was shivering. "It's nothing."

"I don't think so. You're still shaking." Kaiba slipped onto the couch, using his shoulders to support Jounouchi's back.

He refused to reply. This wasn't something he wanted to discuss- not with Kaiba, not with anyone. The fear he felt at the climax of the confrontation all came rushing back. His vision began to swim and he belatedly realized he might be having a panic attack.

"Jounouchi?"

Suddenly, Kaiba's hand on his shoulder was his only anchor to the world.

"It's okay." The words were spoken with a type of hesitation that suggested Kaiba was unused to giving comfort.

Jounouchi snapped. "No, it's not okay! How pathetic is it that I'm still dreaming about him? It's over with and I still can't get over it!" His hands curled into fists, shaking with the urge to hit something- destroy something. He moved to free himself from Kaiba's grip. He shouldn't need anyone to comfort him- the vulnerability left him feeling weak and he loathed himself for that.

"I still see Gozaburo in my dreams sometimes."

The admission caught him by surprise. "Really?"

"Jounouchi, we've both been through a lot; the least of which would be our lovely fathers. It's only...human that they would haunt our subconscious."

"What do you dream about?"

There was silence. Jounouchi was afraid the other man would not answer. Had he overstepped some boundary?

"The worst ones are when I am Noa," Kaiba turned his head to look him straight in the eye. "That I am the one trapped and powerless, yet forever trying to win over Gozaburo. But I can't, because I have neither the means or the power."

Jounouchi reached out and hesitantly took the brunette's hand. He ran a finger across a discolored patch of skin he never noticed before. "What's this?"

"From soldering. I was working on the circuitry for a new product."

"Can you tell me what?"

"Yes, but I'd have to kill you."

"Thanks." He said quietly and released Kaiba's hand.

As Kaiba peeled off his suit jacket and tossed it on the adjacent armchair, Jounouchi said, "I thought you were leaving."

"And now I'm not."

"You don't have to stay because of me." Jounouchi didn't need anyone to take care of him.

"Who said I was? I'm tired and my driver has already left for the night. I think you can afford to put me up on the couch tonight seeing as I own the apartment."

Kaiba settled into the armchair and pulled his laptop from his briefcase. As the sound of Kaiba's typing filled the air, the otherwise quiet and lack of conversation dragged on. Jounouchi could have retired to his bedroom for the night, but something held him back. Because the silence and total darkness was the last thing he wanted that night. Jounouchi reached over for the remote and turned on the television, lowering the volume to barely above a whisper. NHK was showing re-runs of the old drama, _Tsukigomori_. He snuck glances at Kaiba, who was completely engrossed in his work. He envied Kaiba's ability to concentrate like that. Jounouchi drifted off to the dramatic sounds of Mio and Katsuki's confrontation onscreen.

The next time Jounouchi opened his eyes, the sun was peeking through the cracks in the blinds that were drawn over the apartment's large windows. The television was off and there was no sign of Kaiba anywhere. Just when he began to wonder if the previous night had all been some fevered dream, he found a terse note on the refrigerator and shook his head with a smile.

-x-x-x-

When Manami was about three weeks old, Anzu threw a small impromptu party celebrating her newborn daughter and the shedding of baby weight. It took more than a little work to get Jounouchi to the Turtle Game Shop under the nose of the watching paparazzi, but he was ecstatic to get out of the apartment. This was also the first time Jounouchi actually held Manami. She was so tiny- everything about her screamed how fragile she was.

"I think she's going to have your eyes, Anzu." He declared as he hefted the baby into the air like that scene from Lion King.

"And with my luck, she'll have Yugi's hair." Anzu giggled over her bottle of beer- some microbrew that she had fallen in love with while living in the States and spent a pretty penny importing for special occasions.

"There's nothing wrong with our hair!" Yugi- or maybe it was Yami- huffed loudly and indignantly from across the room.

Jounouchi passed Manami back over to her grandmothers, Mutou Akane and Mazaki Hina.

"I heard you were going back to work next month." Jounouchi said to Anzu.

"Yep," she scooted closer to Jounouchi when Bakura came to join them on the couch. "I love Mana-chan and Yugi, but I'm going to go stir-crazy if I don't get out of the house more. Yugi's barely let me go to the grocery store alone in the last five months."

"So who's going to look after Mana-chan while you're at work?" Bakura inquired.

"Yugi and I have already discussed this; I was always going to go back to work after giving birth. He will probably be watching her at the game shop most the time. He's hired some part-time help in fact. I would love to take Mana-chan with me to the dance school, but I'll be busy enough with teaching and all the other business stuff," she looked over to where her husband was talking with Honda. "Besides she's got a guardian angel on her side."

"I don't know if I would call Yami an angel."

Anzu elbowed him in his side, causing him to double over in pain. "Oh Jounouchi, I forgot! I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he wheezed slightly. "Just need to catch my breath."

"I'll get some aspirin for you." She jumped to her feet and left the room.

Bakura gave a sympathetic smile. "How are you recovering?"

"I'm due in for another chest scan next week. I'll have a better idea afterwards, but I'm feeling better with each day."

"Is that so?"

Jounouchi wasn't sure he liked the sly grin on Bakura's face- it reminded him a bit too much of the other Bakura. "Geeze, dude, don't do that. It's creepy."

Bakura ignored his previous statement instead. "Everyone knows Kaiba has been going over to your place."

"Everybody knows?"

"Knows what?" Anzu asked as she returned with a bottle of pills and a cup of warm tea.

"Kaiba," Bakura replied simply.

A knowing smile swept across Anzu's lips. "Ah."

"You guys better not be spying on me." He wasn't surprised that the rest of the group knew about Kaiba's visits. More than once, Kaiba had shown up while Yugi or Shizuka was over. It was as if the whole group had taken on the collective responsibility to entertain him during his "house arrest," as Honda loved to refer to his hiding out from the media.

"We're happy for you and Kaiba-kun," Bakura added.

Jounouchi took the items offered to him. The other two waited eagerly for him to swallow the pill. It made him feel like a specimen under the microscope.

"So what happens when you go back to America?" Anzu set her bottle aside and stared at him.

"Uh... I go back to work?"

"She means with you and Kaiba. Are you in a long-distance relationship or a more casual arrangement?" Bakura leaned in with anticipation.

_It figured Bakura's relationship with Malik would have made him a gossip_, Jounouchi thought.

"Don't say it like that, Bakura-kun. It sounds so cold and clinical."

Jounouchi stared down at his cup of tea before answering carefully, "I don't know."

"Let me guess, you guys haven't talked about it yet?"

"I think we're dating?"

"He thinks they're dating," Anzu threw her hands back in the air. "You're going to be separated by the Pacific Ocean in a few weeks. You have to think about what happens then, Jounouchi. Use your brain for once."

"What about you and Yugi? You guys managed it somehow." Jounouchi tried to shift the attention off himself.

She looked confused for a moment.

"Come on, Anzu, I'm not blind. You guys have been going out since our senior year of high school. You guys thought you were being all discreet, but everyone knew."

"It's true," Bakura nodded.

She rolled her eyes instead. "Fine, whatever. But Jounouchi, Yugi and I broke up before I went to New York. We agreed it would be better if we didn't make any promises that we couldn't keep. I know Yugi would have waited, but it wasn't fair to make him wait either."

He took a minute to fully absorb her words. "If you and Yugi couldn't do it, what makes you think Kaiba and I will get along in a long-distance relationship?"

"I was seventeen when I went to New York; you're 29. I really hope you can make a mature decision like this by now."

Bakura continued to watch them both, but contributed nothing further to the conversation. Jounouchi was tempted to make a comment about the man's occupation and the tendency to get involved in other people's business. He was just grateful that they kept their mouths shut when Kaiba himself joined them a few moments later.

After the party, Kaiba and he went out for a late dinner at a restaurant he used to go with Shizuka. Most of the regulars were too drunk to recognize Kaiba or care when they walked in. It was noisy, but as Kaiba had pointed out: it was often best to hide in plain sight. It was in an isolated booth where Jounouchi's only guard against recognition was a black wig and a pair of dark sunglasses that he popped the question over a plate of yakisoba.

Anzu was right; they needed to figure out their plan.

"What happens when I go back to America?"

There was no pause or hesitation before Kaiba answers (Jounouchi suspects that he's already thought about this ahead of time). "Whatever you want. I've made my position perfectly clear, Jounouchi. You need to decide if you want to commit to a clandestine and long-distance relationship."

The problem was Jounouchi didn't know.

"Ugh, I can't believe you eat that stuff." Jounouchi wrinkled his nose as the waitress deposited a bowl of natto (1) onto the table. He continued to make a gagging gesture when Kaiba smirked and mixed a large dollop of natto into his rice.

A group of office workers seated at a nearby booth broke into sudden song. They were drunk and had no sense of pitch, but the sound filled the silence that settled between them. Jounouchi liked to take every opportunity he could to study Kaiba and his moods. Despite many years of acquaintance, Jounouchi was forced to admit he didn't actually know as much about Kaiba as he thought- the ten years they spent apart didn't help for one thing. But he was learning- picking up on facts faster than he had on the basics of Duel Monsters. Like how even with the noise, Kaiba actually liked restaurants like this one, which served simple but hearty food to all manners of white-collar workers and college students. Or that Kaiba's favorite common vintage of wine was a 2008 Graacher Himmelreich Spatlese.

Confronted with both the distance in space and time soon to be between them, Jounouchi started to panic. Did he really think he would be able to succeed at something not even Yugi and Anzu had attempted? They were both people with busy careers and unpredictable work hours. Perhaps the more troubling question is whether or not Kaiba was really willing to make the effort required?

His thoughts were interrupted when Kaiba took his hand under the table.

"Stop worrying about it so much. Mokuba and Rebecca manage somehow."

Jounouchi chuckled, feeling far too vulnerable and uncertain. "I forgot about the two of them. How do they do it?"

"A lot of hard work and arguing."

"If your kid brother and the brat can do it, it's going to be a piece of cake for us," Jounouchi clung to the idea that they would be strong enough. He hoped that saying it would somehow cement it as truth. "If we can save the world more than once, we can definitely make this work."

Under the table, he squeezed Kaiba's hand. Much to his delight, Kaiba answered with a small and pleased smile.

-x-x-x-

"How does the defendant plead to the charge of illegal firearm possession?" The judge behind the bench asked. The courtroom was filled mostly with reporters and internet bloggers.

"Guilty, your honor," Otonashi replied on Sophie's behalf.

"Very well, let us begin with the review of the evidence then. Prosecutor?"

Jounouchi's only company for that first session of court was Claudia. She was busy taking what notes she could based on her limited Japanese. He wondered why she even bothered.

"Do they seriously not have an arraignment process?" Claudia muttered loudly. "Time to catch up with the 20th century, Japan."

He glared at her, and she ignored it. He was beginning to see why Sophie disliked her so much. Thankfully, Claudia would be returning to the States tomorrow and he would be free of her condescension. As the prosecutor began his summary of the event around Jounouchi's kidnapping, she continued to thumb loudly through her Japanese-English dictionary. Every pause between words were punctuated by crinkling pages. Jounouchi made a mental note that his new manager would have to be already fluent in Japanese.

The hearing lasted about three hours before the court was adjourned until the next session. He came away from the proceedings even more peeved at Sophie.

"I can't believe she got the gun from the yakuza! And those death threats? She should have told me!" He tried to keep his voice and head down as they shuffled past the group of tabloid reporters and photographers waiting outside the courtroom.

"You know Sophia, always the lone ranger." Claudia took his forearm, leading him behind a line of baliffs that kept the reporters back.

Jounouchi was still fuming silently as Claudia dragged him around the next corner. He ripped his arm out of the agent's grip, sending her tumbling into another passerbyer.

"Joey!" She shouted in fury when she went down.

He reacted quickly and managed to grab a hold of an arm flailing for support. It wasn't Claudia though, as she was busy glaring up at him from the floor.

"I'm sorry, miss."

He helped the other woman to her feet first. Her gentle smile caught him off guard, along with the familiarity of her stylish bob cut's ice blue.

As Jounouchi turned to help Claudia, she asked, "Jounouchi-san, is that you?"

Despite his initial feelings of familiarity, he couldn't draw a name.

"It's me, Ryuujin Kisara," she continued. "It's been years!"

"Oh my god, Kisara? What are you doing here?"

She clasped her hands together in obvious delight. "How is everyone? I haven't spoken to Shizu-chan in years after moving back to Kyoto."

"I think it would take more than a few minutes to cover that. Yugi and Anzu just had their first kid- a baby girl. What are you doing here?"

Claudia tugged on his sleeve and grumbled, "Flirt on your own time. We need to go before those reporters catch up."

Kisara cut in before he could snap at the agent. "I'm sorry, Jounouchi-san. I hope I'm not keeping you. I'm here on business so I should get going too." She dug into her purse and then handed him a business card. "Please give everyone, including Kaiba-san, my regards. My magazine would love to get an interview with you sometime."

She was gone in a flash, bursting with energy he never knew she had. The job title on her card read: _Fashion Editor, **Hanako** Magazine _(2). He just shook his head in disbelief and pocketed the card.

-x-x-x-

Morbid curiosity later drove Jounouchi to do an Internet search on Kisara. Most of what turned up was related to her job at Hanako Magazine, but he also saw references to an early failed marriage here and there. Over dinner with his family, he asked his sister.

"Yeah, I heard something about that through the alumni network." Shizuka chewed on the end of her chopsticks. "I heard that her husband wanted her to be a housewife and didn't like it when she started working. In the end, she chose her job."

His mother just smiled sadly. "Some of us are better off unattached; the problem is we often find that out too late."

He wasn't sure why, but the conversation stuck with him. After tying up the rest of his loose ends related to Claudia and giving another reassurance that he would be returning to work soon, he realized why. Twenty minutes later, he was standing outside Kaiba's office building and demanding entrance over the phone. A night security guard begrudgingly let Jounouchi into the building and directed him to the express elevator to the top floors.

The building was otherwise deserted, but he wasn't surprised by Kaiba's late work hours. He did keep an eye out for the killer robot guards Malik was so fond of joking about. Jounouchi entered the office without announcing himself.

"How was the trial?" Kaiba asked.

"As well as a guilty plead can go."

To Jounouchi's surprise, Kaiba stopped typing and stepped away from his desk. "What's so important it couldn't wait until tomorrow?"

Jounouchi flexed his hands nervously. He made no attempt to move closer to Kaiba. The other man must have sensed something was wrong, because he stopped just a few feet away.

As soon as he opened his mouths, words fell like a gushing waterfall. "I don't think you realize how scary the idea of a relationship with you really is. You're ambitious, so much larger than life, and crazy successful. A person could easily be overshadowed completely by you. If your partners aren't careful, they stop being your equal in a relationship. Why did your other relationships end?"

Kaiba's subsequent silence was the most telling. Jounouchi's mouth ran dry in response.

"I'm not giving up my career," Jounouchi confessed. He felt no guilt or anxiety over the admission- he would have felt worse if he never put it out there. "I don't care if you think it's a joke, but I worked really hard to get where I am today. I've worked my entire life to prove I'm a person in my own right. And this is something that I want to do, something I want for myself. I'm not going to give it all up for a relationship with you. And I think you feel the same, you've worked your ass off more for this company than anything else."

"So there is a brain up there after all," Kaiba's soft tone took the edge off his almost sneer. "I wouldn't respect you if you did anyway."

Jounouchi had always figured Kaiba to be the sort of person that worked late nights in the dark. It wasn't practical, but it fit the silly romantic image of the untouchable Kaiba Seto. The office was well-lit, but the moon hanging behind Kaiba cast a soft glow on his chestnut brown hair. In that moment, Jounouchi knew what he wanted; he knew he could make it work.

"There's no reason we can't try to have both though." Jounouchi's lungs burned with the air cleared between them. He took four steps forward to clear the small distance between them. His entire body felt ready to burst with confidence as he snaked a hand through his boyfriend's hair and dove in for a kiss. It was even better when Kaiba pulled him closer.

** _...The End..._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1) Natto is fermented soy beans, usually eaten with rice. It is also Honda's least favorite food.
> 
> (2) Hanako Magazine is a lifestyle magazine published in Tokyo that is aimed at young women in their twenties with disposable income.
> 
> Wow, this fic only took 8 years (granted, I spent about 5 of those not thinking about writing fanfic) and almost 100,000 words to completion. Joey is largely finished at this point, but there may be a short epilogue to follow within the week. Either that, or I'll use the epilogue as the beginning of any follow-up stories in this universe.
> 
> I hope you were all able to enjoy this even more than I enjoyed writing it.
> 
> So much thanks to my beloved SO, who had to deal with me obsessing over specific scenes for days on end and beta'ed the vast majority of this story after I returned to it earlier last year. Also thanks to my fellow puppyshippers on LJ for providing much needed distractions. Last but definitely not least, thank you to you lovely readers and reviewers! Whether you started reading today or came back to this after eight long years, this would not have been possible without you.


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